Asia Pacific Environmental and Occupational Health Journal

Objective: The mobile phones carried by low skilled migrant workers may serve as a vehicle for pathogen transmission for it warm and hand held, worsen by poor hygiene routine by the workers. This paper aimed to determine the microbial bur- den on mobile phones of low-skilled migrant workers and the association with their hygiene practices as well as health symptoms.

Method: A group of Nepal security workers (n=40) answered a questionnaire, after which, mobile phone swap samples were collected. Bacteria species were cultured, isolated and determined using blood agar, MacConkey agar and analytical profile index (API) kit.

Result: All of the mobile phones, except one, showed positive for microbial growth. Fifty five percent of the samples iso- lated beta haemolytic bacteria on blood agar while 82.5% isolated Gram negative non-lactose ferment bacteria on Mac- Conkey agar. The respondents had good general hand hygiene practices (70.9±18.5%), but moderate in hygiene related to mobile phone use (54.4±12.5%). The latter along with hand sanitizer use significantly influenced the pathogenicity of mi- crobes isolated (p<0.05). Reduction in mobile phone hygiene practices also significantly increased the onset of skin (-0.321) and gastrointestinal symptoms (-0.447), matched the species isolated of which Acin. Calcoaceticus, Shigella spp. and Ta- tumella ptyseos were the most prevalent ones.

Conclusion: Mobile phone may transmit pathogen and disease to mankind, especially when hygiene did not prevail. Thus, hand as well as phone sanitizing measures should be taken up along with education campaigns among low-skilled migrant workers.

Keywords: Mobile phone; Bacteria; Migrant workers