Cell Phones Spread Bacteria MRSA Superbug
Posted 03-06-2009 at 07:55 AM by aepple
Tags bacteria , cell phone , mrsa
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.
We now have to keep in mind to wash our hands and our cell phones. This sounds sensible, germs live on hands and on saliva landing on the phone from talking into your cell.
Think about it the next time you use someone else's cell phone, or someone uses your cell phone. OUCH!
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.
Nearly 35 percent carried two types of bacteria, and more than 11 percent carried three or more different species of bugs, the study found.
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.
Inserts and the full report can be found@
AFP: Cellphones may spread superbugs in hospitals: study
Banning phone use in hospital settings is probably not practical, they concluded, because the devices are often used for work in emergencies.
The study was published in BioMed Central's Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials.
In the United States, where national statistics are available, MRSA is the cause of more than 60 percent of all hospital infections. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MRSA in 2005 infected 94,000 people and killed 19,000 in the United States.
Cellphones may spread superbugs in hospitals: study
We now have to keep in mind to wash our hands and our cell phones. This sounds sensible, germs live on hands and on saliva landing on the phone from talking into your cell.
Think about it the next time you use someone else's cell phone, or someone uses your cell phone. OUCH!
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.
Nearly 35 percent carried two types of bacteria, and more than 11 percent carried three or more different species of bugs, the study found.
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.
Inserts and the full report can be found@
AFP: Cellphones may spread superbugs in hospitals: study
Banning phone use in hospital settings is probably not practical, they concluded, because the devices are often used for work in emergencies.
The study was published in BioMed Central's Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials.
In the United States, where national statistics are available, MRSA is the cause of more than 60 percent of all hospital infections. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MRSA in 2005 infected 94,000 people and killed 19,000 in the United States.
Cellphones may spread superbugs in hospitals: study
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Please consider protection of your cell phone.
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Blaine Warkentine MDPosted 11-06-2009 at 06:04 PM by blainomd
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