The largest study of its kind has found hospital workers’ phones are carrying the same superbugs that kill millions of people worldwide every year.
An international team of researchers including several from Bond University analysed DNA samples from 95 mobile phones belonging to healthcare workers in Australian and UAE hospitals.
They identified bacterial species responsible for a significant proportion of the 13.7 million deaths caused by bacterial infections in 2019 alone.
On average, each phone carried 3.62 species from the 10 bacteria associated with the highest global mortality rates.
These included Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli, all designated priority pathogens by the World Health Organization.
metagenomics scans dna
The scientists used a cutting-edge technique called metagenomics to scan the raw DNA on the phones, identifying not only the bacteria themselves but also the genes they carry that can shield them from drugs.
This revealed that phones also harboured the genetic “toolkit” bacteria use to share and acquire antibiotic resistance traits, raising the possibility that the devices may act as reservoirs for hard-to-treat infections.
The research team coined the term “phonome” to describe this microbial ecosystem, referring to the complex communities of bacteria and disease-causing genes found on mobile phones.
While the study did not examine direct transmission of infection, the findings point to a potential cross-contamination pathway that is currently under-recognised in clinical settings.
Despite this risk, mobile phones are rarely included in routine hospital disinfection protocols, creating what researchers describe as a blind spot in infection control that may undermine strict hand hygiene practices.
The phone samples were primarily collected from emergency departments and paediatric wards, including some from neonatal and paediatric intensive care units.
routine practices
One of the study’s authors, Dr Lotti Tajouri of Bond University, said hospitals risk overlooking a critical vector in infection control.
“Hospitals place a strong emphasis on hand hygiene, but mobile phones are often overlooked despite being handled constantly in clinical settings,” Dr Tajouri said.
“These devices move between wards, patient areas and personal spaces, yet they are rarely disinfected as part of routine infection-control practices.”
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