February 10, 2006
Hospital SuperBug Found on Mobile Phones
Cellular News reports that a study conducted at the Craigavon Area Hospital Group Trust in Northern Ireland has found that the majority of mobile phones used by doctors and other health workers are carrying infectious pathogens, including on some phones the deadly hospital "superbug", MRSA.
... "There was no significant difference between phone types - clam shells were no better or worse in the study than candy bar form handsets.
While there is reason for concern, there is almost no chance of patents being infected from the mobile phones as health workers do not generally hand their phones to patients to use. The report does recommend that decontamination techniques are developed for mobile phones when used in hospital environments.
This is the first published study to address the incidence of bacterial contamination of mobile phones."
Related:
-- New Motorola Phone Fights Dirty Germs - Motorola has created a next-generation germ-resistant multimedia phone.
-- Is Your Handset Clean? - Phone Clean is "the world first mobile cleaning system" presented at Expo Comm Wireless Korea 2005.
-- Patents for hygiene treatment of cell phones on the rise -The Korean Intellectual Property Office announced Sunday the number of application for patent on hygiene treatment of cell phones rose from 8 in 2000, 12 in 2003 and to 22 in 2004.
-- Dirty keyboard cause infections in hospitals - The proliferation of Blackberries, PDAs and other types of information technology in hospitals poses a serious challenge for infection control in hospitals.
-- LG Telecom gets your handset germ-free - As the mobile phone has become a part of our life, it is always exposed to touch of hands. As a result, our handsets are inhabited by about 25,000 bacteria.
-- Cell phones carry germs in hospitals - Cell phones used by healthcare personnel in hospitals can spread dangerous infectious agents, according to researchers in Israel.
-- A mobile-phone charger with a sterilization function - Crystal manufacturer Yoosung Global has developed a mobile-phone charger with a sterilization function, the first of its kind in the world, as well as lamp and air-purifying capabilities.
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