Abstract

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Today, mobile phone (MP) due to its great benefits has become an indispensable tool for people from all and sundry irrespective of profession, social status or location. However, MP can also serve as habitat for pathogenic bacteria. This study was aimed at isolating bacterial contaminants from mobile phones of some pharmacy students in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria and to determine the antibiotics susceptibility pattern of such bacterial isolates. Twenty swabs were obtained from the MPs of 20 volunteered students, using standard biochemical methods of analysis, specific bacterial isolates were identified. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was carried out using Kirby Bauer disc agar diffusion method. The resistance pattern of the isolates was determined using descriptive statistical analysis. Multiple antibiotic resistance index (MARI) was also determined. A total of 35 bacterial isolates were gotten which were: S. aureus 19 (54.3%), E. coli 11 (31.4%), Klebsiella pneumoniae 3 (8.6), Streptococcus spp 2 (5.7%). The greatest activity was observed with the quinolones especially pefloxacin while the isolates were highly resistant to beta lactam antibiotics; 85.7% of the isolates had MARI greater than 0.2. All the MPs sampled were contaminated with pathogenic bacteria and showed high level of resistance to commonly prescribed antibiotics. This might be an indication that antibiotics are being misused or abused. As much as possible, exchange of MPs between individuals should be avoided to limit the level of transmission of bacterial contaminants through MPs.

Keywords: Antibiotics, Bacteria, Contaminants, and Mobile phones