BACKGROUND Smartphones used in clinical settings harbour potentially pathogenic bacteria, and this may pose an infection risk. Previous studies have relied on culture-based methods. AIM To characterize the quantity and diversity of microbial contamination of hospital staff smartphones using culture-dependent and culture-independent methods; to determine the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant potential pathogens; to compare microbial communities of hospital staff and control group phones. METHODS Smartphones of 250 hospital staff and 191 control group participants were swabbed. The antibiotic resistance profile of Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus isolates was determined. Swabs were pooled into groups according to the hospital area staff worked in, and DNA was extracted. The microbial community of the phone was characterized using an Illumina MiSeq metabarcoding pipeline. FINDINGS Almost all (99.2%) of hospital staff smartphones were contaminated with potential pathogens, and bacterial colony forming units (CFUs) were significantly higher on hospital phones than in the control group. Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) were only detected on hospital mobile phones. Metabarcoding revealed a far greater abundance of Gram-negative contaminants, and much greater diversity, than culture-based methods. Bacillus spp. were significantly more abundant in the hospital group. CONCLUSION This study reinforces the need to consider infection-control policies to mitigate the potential risks associated with the increased use of smartphones in clinical environments, and highlights the limitations of culture-based methods for environmental swabbing.

中文翻译：

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手机是医院中潜在病原体的毒剂：微生物组分析揭示了隐藏的污染物。

背景技术在临床环境中使用的智能手机带有潜在的病原细菌，这可能带来感染的风险。先前的研究依赖于基于文化的方法。目的使用依赖于文化和不依赖于文化的方法来表征医务人员智能手机中微生物污染的数量和多样性；确定对抗生素有抗药性的潜在病原体的患病率；比较医院工作人员和对照组电话的微生物群落。方法擦拭250名医院工作人员的智能手机和191名对照组的参与者。确定了金黄色葡萄球菌和肠球菌分离株的抗生素耐药性。根据工作所在医院区域的工作人员将拭子分成几组，并提取DNA。使用Illumina MiSeq元条形码管道对手机的微生物群落进行了表征。结果几乎所有（99.2％）的医院工作人员智能手机都被潜在的病原体污染，医院电话上的细菌菌落形成单位（CFU）明显高于对照组。仅在医院手机上检测到耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌（MRSA）和耐万古霉素肠球菌（VRE）。与基于培养的方法相比，元条形码显示出革兰氏阴性污染物的丰度要大得多，多样性要大得多。芽孢杆菌 在医院组明显更丰富。结论本研究强调需要考虑采取感染控制政策，以减轻与临床环境中智能手机使用量的增加相关的潜在风险，