Contamination of coliforms and Escherichia coli on mobile phone touchscreens of public health students at a university
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/dcj.2020.1Keywords:
mobile phone, coliforms, Escherichia coliAbstract
Mobile phone is an essential part of daily life nowadays; however, it could pose a health risk from the microorganisms found on its touchscreen. This study aims to analyze the contamination of coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli on mobile phone touchscreens among public health students at a university in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. The relationship between the behavior and hygiene in using mobile phones and the contamination of coliform bacteria was also investigated. The detection and determination of coliform bacteria was performed by using the coliform bacteria screening kit SI-2, and biochemical tests, namely Indole production test, Methyl red test, Voges-Proskauer test, and Citrate utilization test for Escherichia coli identification. The chi-square test with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to analyze the relationship between the behavior and hygiene in using mobile phones and the contamination of coliform bacteria. The study found that 17.0% (19/112) of mobile phone touchscreens was positive for coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli was detected in 2 samples. Moreover, the behavior of using mobile phones in toilets was found to have been significantly related to the contamination of coliform bacteria (p<0.05). This study suggests that using mobile phones while in the toilets should be avoided, and good hygiene practices should be observed when using mobile phones in order to prevent the health risk arising from the exposure to microorganisms on mobile phone touchscreens.
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Articles published in the Disease Control Journal are considered as academic work, research or analysis of the personal opinion of the authors, not the opinion of the Thailand Department of Disease Control or editorial team. The authors must be responsible for their articles.
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