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Dirty Cellphones

How Dirty Cellphones Are. In hygiene, Microbial standards are necessary and important for one to have a healthy life. Most people have had a belief that microbes only exist in hospitals or research labs and clinics and therefore they do not have information concerning their security in other breeding grounds. Lacking knowledge on how and where germs can occur could lead to many health problems.

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JOB MULATI
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197 views5 pages

Dirty Cellphones

How Dirty Cellphones Are. In hygiene, Microbial standards are necessary and important for one to have a healthy life. Most people have had a belief that microbes only exist in hospitals or research labs and clinics and therefore they do not have information concerning their security in other breeding grounds. Lacking knowledge on how and where germs can occur could lead to many health problems.

Uploaded by

JOB MULATI
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How Dirty Cellphones Are

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How Dirty Cellphones Are.

In hygiene, Microbial standards are necessary and important for one to have a healthy

life. Most people have had a belief that microbes only exist in hospitals or research labs and

clinics and therefore they do not have information concerning their security in other breeding

grounds. Lacking knowledge on how and where germs can occur could lead to many health

problems. Koscova et al. state that 80 percent of the infections could be a result of contact of the

hand with hands or with other objects (1). Bacteria can be found anywhere including food, soil,

animals, plants, water, and air. According to Koscova et al., devices such as mobile phones can

transmit microorganisms such as Gram-Positive bacteria (Micrococcus spp, Staphylococcus

spp), bacteria such as Gram-Negative, and spore-forming rod microorganisms (Bacillus Spp.)

(1). The focus of this paper, therefore, is to establish how dirty cellphones are, intending to

emphasize the importance of microbiology in biomedical sciences and to professionals in

modern health care.

A cell phone can be defined as a portable, cordless telephone used by almost everyone in

the world. Despite its multipurpose use, a cell phone is reported to be hazardous since it carries

microorganisms alongside its important data (Lopez et al. 1-8). Lopez et al. state that cellphones

are filthy things humans use oblivious of the fact that it carries approximately 25,000 germs in a

square inch (1-8). Among many surfaces which include toilet seats, food dishes, doorknobs,

kitchen counters, etc., cellphones are considered to be carrying the highest number of germs per

square inch. At a square inch, the toilet seat carries 1,201 bacteria, the kitchen counter has 1,736,

the Pet food dish has 2,110, the Checkout screen has 4,500, and the Doorknob which has 8,643

bacteria (Pontious). Cellphones are therefore the dirtiest and unhygienic objects, over ten times

dirtier in harboring bacteria than toilet surfaces. Toilet surfaces appear cleaner than cell phones.
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It is important to note that cell phones also have a connection to nosocomial infections.

Cellphones have been reported to be reservoirs for Microbial Pathogens. Cellphones are used by

both clinical and non-clinical officers or health care and non-health workers in hospitals.

Hospitals are the places where nosocomial or hospital-related infections have been reported to be

the most prevalent. According to Lopez et al., 40% of pathogenic bacteria are from phones used

by patients while 20% are from the cell phones used by the hospital staff (1-8). The bacteria are

reported to be part of the mucous membranes and skin physiological microbiota as commensal

and epiphytes bacteria. Cell phones have proved to be the most potential reservoirs for infection.

Phones are not always disinfected since many users are not aware that they are potential sources

of microbial contamination which consequently leads to the transmission of pathogens (Ya’aba et

al. 35). The bacteria that is found on our skin, hands, and fingernails are likely to be transferring

bacteria to cellphones.

Research done by Koscova et al. showed that out of 25 mobile phones that were sampled,

92 percent of them were infected by bacteria (5). Before the phones were disinfected, they had

20 percent Staphylococcus aureus, 76 percent CoNS (coagulase-negative staphylococci), 36

percent Bacillus spp, 36 percent Micrococcus spp and 12 percent Enteric bacteria (Koscova et al.

5). When they were disinfected, there was a reduction of 60.0%, 63.2%, 88.9%, 88.9%, and

100% respectively. In the study of Pal et al.’s “Mobile phones Reservoirs for the transmission of

nosocomial pathogens” (qtd in Koscova et al. 5), CoNS were also the most prevalent with almost

81% bacteria (5). In addition, they confirmed that these bacteria under some circumstances can

easily lead to purulent infections in immunosuppressed persons.

To prevent the risk posed by dirty cellphones, washing hands regularly should be done.

Secondly, phones are supposed to be cleaned using disposable wipes that are specifically made
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to disinfect and clean phone surfaces (Cutolo). One can also clean the cell phone using a gentle

cloth mixed with 40% isopropyl alcohol and 60% water.


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References

Cutolo, Morgan. “Here’s How Filthy Your Cell Phone Really Is.” Reader’s Digest. February, 3rd

2022. https://www.rd.com/article/germs-on-your-phone/

Koscova, Jana, Zuzana Hurnikova, and Juraj Pistl. "Degree of bacterial contamination of mobile

phone and computer keyboard surfaces and efficacy of disinfection with chlorhexidine

digluconate and triclosan to its reduction." International journal of environmental

research and public health 15.10 (2018): 2238. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15102238

Lopez, Valentina Anne, et al. "A study of microbial distribution and cell phone hygiene

awareness at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Jeli Campus." Songklanakarin Journal of

Science & Technology 42.1 (2020). https://rdo.psu.ac.th/sjstweb/journal/42-1/10.pdf

Pontious, Aubrey. “The Dirty Cell Phone: 25,127 Bacteria per Square Inch.” StateFoodSafety

Resources. 2022. www.statefoodsafety.com/Resources/Resources/the-dirty-cell-phone-

25-127-bacteria-per-square-inch#:~:text=According%20to%20Seattle%20Times

%20journalist,in%20contact%20with%20every%20day.

Ya’aba, Y., Chuku, A., Okposhi, U. S., Hadi, N. S., & Ramalan, S. A. (2020). Bacterial

Contamination Associated with Mobile Cell Phones among Undergraduate Students of

Federal University of Lafia, Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Basic and

Applied Sciences, 28(2), 36-42. https://doi.org/10.4314/njbas.v28i2.5

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