DISCUSSION
Bacterial contamination of healthcare providers’ mobile phones is an extensively studied subject 7. However, the relationship between nasal colonization and mobile phone contamination is not well understood. In this study, we conducted PFGE to investigate the closeness between S.aureus strains isolated from the noses and mobile phones of healthcare providers. We found that out S. aureus strains isolated from the mobile phones of two healthcare providers and S. aureus strains isolated from their noses were genetically identical. This shows that bacteria colonized in the nose contaminate mobile phones. Kanayama et al. showed that S. aureusstrains isolated from the mobile phones of nurses and S. aureusstrains detected in their hands were genetically identical and mentioned the cross-contamination between mobile phones and hands8. Furthermore, it was found out in our study that the strain isolated from the nose and mobile phone of a healthcare provider and the strain detected on the mobile phone of another healthcare provider were identical, which shows that S.aureus strains colonized in the noses of healthcare providers can be transmitted to other surfaces through hands, and that the hospital environment and the shared devices pose a risk for spread. Similarly, S. aureusstrains, which were also genetically identical in the study of Kanayama et al. were observed in many mobile phones and the hands of people using them, indicating that these strains spread to large areas within the hospital through the hands of healthcare providers using contaminated mobile phones 8.
In the study of Chang et al. which examines the bacterial contamination of mobile phones of healthcare providers working in the operating room and compares this with the hand and nose colonization of the same healthcare providers, it was found out that the rate of mobile phone contamination was 98%, and also the bacteria in the mobile phones, hands, and noses of the healthcare providers were identical at the rate of 94.3 % 9 .
In their study, Brady et al. demonstrated the relationship between nasalS. aureus carriage of healthcare providers and the S. aureus contamination of the mobile phones used by patients and emphasized the risk of cross-contamination 10. Shi et al. reported the cross-contamination of S. aureus on the surfaces which healthcare providers contacted with their hands in a large city hospital 11.
In many studies conducted, it was reported that nasal S. aureuscarriage was detected at a high rate in healthcare providers. Chang et al. detected that S. aureus nasal carriage in 19,9 % of healthcare providers 9. According to other studies in the literature, this rate was reported to be 30 % in a study conducted in Argentina, 12 % in a study conducted in Ethiopia, and 26 % in a study conducted in India 12-14.
The findings of our study indicate that mobile phones used by healthcare providers may be reservoirs for potential pathogens in nasal colonization. The most common potential pathogen S. aureus is encountered in surgical site infections, pneumonia, septicemia and instrument-related infections. The identification of the relationship between S. aureus strains isolated from these infections and S. aureus strains isolated from the noses and mobile phones of healthcare providers will be useful in determining the ways of infection transmission.