Researchers from the Western University in Sao Paulo (Brazil) found a lot of bacteria on the smartphones of medical students that are dangerous both for the medical staff and for the patients.
Scientists collected swabs from the surfaces of 100 mobile phones of students from the faculties of biomedicine, pharmacology, dentistry, nutrition and nursing. It turned out that 85% of the isolated microbes are resistant to penicillin, and half of them adhere perfectly to surfaces. This means that using contaminated phones in a hospital can have serious consequences for staff and patients.
In addition, the bacteria S. aureus, or Staphylococcus aureus, was found on 40% of smartphones. It can cause a whole range of diseases, ranging from acne and boils to pneumonia or meningitis.