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Bugging of doctors' cell phones

(China Daily/Agencies)
Updated: 2009-03-11 09:24

Cell phones belonging to hospital staff were found to be tainted with bacteria, including the drug-resistant MRSA superbug, and may be a source of hospital-acquired infections, according to a new study.

Researchers from the Ondokuz Mayis University in Turkey led by Fatma Ulger tested the phones and dominant hands of 200 doctors and nurses working in hospital operating rooms and intensive care units.

Ninety-five percent of the mobile phones were contaminated with at least one type of bacteria, with the potential to cause illness ranging from minor skin irritations to deadly disease.

Most worrying, one in eight of the handsets showed methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), a virulent strain that has emerged as a major health threat in hospitals around the world.