Bacterial Profile and Their Antibiogram Isolated from Cell Phones

Bikrant Gumanju¹, Roshna Shrestha¹, Poonam Lakhemaru¹, Rakysa Upadhyaya¹, Sushila Shrestha¹, Dinesh Dhakal¹, Upendra Thapa Shrestha^2*

¹Department of Microbiology, Sainik Awasiya Mahavidhyalaya, Sallaghari, Bhaktapur

²Central Department of Microbiology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathamandu

*Corresponding author: Upendra Thapa Shrestha, Assistant Professor, Central Department of

Microbiology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, E-mail: upendrats@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Objectives: The present study aimed to identify bacteria profile of cell phones used by different people from different profession of Bhaktapur and to access their antimicrobial resistance.

Methods: Forty-nine mobile swab samples were collected from 7 different profession category (7 samples each from student, butcher, cook, panipuri vendor, health workers, and dairy employee). Samples were cultured and processed by standard Microbiological procedures. All the isolates were further subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing using modified Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method as describe in CLSI guidelines. The rate of multiple drug resistant (MDR) bacteria was also determined.

Results: Out of 49 sample, Bacillus spp (20.4%) was the most predominant isolate, followed by

Staphylococcus aureus (10.6%) and Pseudomonas spp (10.6%). Higher variety of bacterial isolates was found in the cell phones swabs from butcher followed by cook, farmer and panipuri vendor group. The data from the questionnaire showed that handkerchief or tissue paper were mostly used by respondents to clean their mobile. All Gram-positive and Gram-negative isolates were resistance to Cefoxitin (100%) except Micrococcus spp and Neisseria spp. Gram positive (18.2%) and Gram-negative (36.9%) isolates were identified as MDR. All S. aureus and coagulase negative staphylococci were methicillin resistant

Conclusion: The cell phones of people from different profession were found to possess many different bacterial pathogens including multi drug resistant strains which could be the possible pathogens for food borne infections and opportunistic infections.

Key words: Cell phones, Antimicrobial susceptibility test, MDR, Standard microbiological procedure

Date of Submission: October 3, 2019            
Date of Acceptance: November 27, 2019

Published Online: December, 2019               
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3126/tujm.v6i0.26591

Citation: Gumanju et al. 2019, Bacterial Profile and Their Antibiogram Isolated from Cell PhonesTUJM 6(1): 96-102