?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Bacterial+%E2%80%98Cell%E2%80%99+Phones%3A+Do+cell+phones+carry+potential+pathogens%3F&rft.creator=Chawla%2C+K&rft.creator=Mukhopadhayay%2C+C&rft.creator=Gurung%2C+B&rft.creator=Bhate%2C+P&rft.creator=Bairy%2C+I&rft.subject=Online+Journal+of+Health+and+Allied+Sciences&rft.description=Cell+phones+are+important+companions+for+professionals+especially+health+care+workers+(HCWs)+for+better+communication+in+hospital.+The+present+study+compared+the+nature+of+the+growth+of+potentially+pathogenic+bacterial+flora+on+cell+phones+in+hospital+and+community.+75%25+cell+phones+from+both+the+categories+grew+at+least+one+potentially+pathogenic+organism.+Cell+phones+from+HCWs+grew+significantly+more+potential+pathogens+like+MRSA+(20%25)%2C+Acinetobacter+species+(5%25)%2C+Pseudomonas+species+(2.5%25)+as+compared+to+the+non+HCWs.+97.5%25+HCWs+use+their+cell+phone+in+the+hospital%2C+57.5%25+never+cleaned+their+cell+phone+and+20%25+admitted+that+they+did+not+wash+their+hands+before+or+after+attending+patients%2C+although+majority+(77.5%25)+knows+that+cell+phones+can+have+harmful+colonization+and+act+as+vector+for+nosocomial+infections.+It+is+recommended%2C+therefore%2C+that+cell+phones+in+the+hospital+should+be+regularly+decontaminated.+Moreover%2C+utmost+emphasis+needs+to+be+paid+to+hand+washing+practices+among+HCWs.&rft.publisher=Dr.+BS+Kakkilaya&rft.contributor=Kakkilaya%2C+Dr+Srinivas&rft.date=2009-05-05&rft.type=Journal+(On-line%2FUnpaginated)&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F6566%2F1%2F2009-1-8.pdf&rft.identifier=++Chawla%2C+K+and+Mukhopadhayay%2C+C+and+Gurung%2C+B+and+Bhate%2C+P+and+Bairy%2C+I++(2009)+Bacterial+%E2%80%98Cell%E2%80%99+Phones%3A+Do+cell+phones+carry+potential+pathogens%3F++%5BJournal+(On-line%2FUnpaginated)%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F6566%2F