Bacteria on Smartphones: Risks and Disinfection

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Biotechnology
12-3-2020

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Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Human Microbiota.....................................................................................................................3
Commonly found Microbes.......................................................................................................4
Effective Disinfection................................................................................................................4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................5
References..................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
Smartphone is the need of the time and everybody uses it for their personal and professional
use. People can be seen using smartphones everywhere and anywhere and that has led to its
use in the restrooms and the washrooms as well. Hence, the matter of concern that can be
observed, in this case, is that restrooms and washrooms are a place for a variety of bacteria
and other microbes that can be infectious and harmful. Thus, this report discusses the
presence of these bacteria and the potential infection that can be caused due to their
accumulation on the smartphones that are being used in the restrooms.
Human microbiota
It has been studied by the author Meadow and his colleagues that around 50 percent of the
population use phones in toilets and out of the 15 percent tends to drop it accidentally in the
toilets. Phones and the daily use of carriable devices are the most visible carrier of infectious
diseases and microbes. Settling of bacteria from the feces or the hands on the phones is the
easiest way one can catch infection unknowingly (Meadow, et al., 2014).
To study the effect of the use of phone in the restrooms and its relation with the infection
Martínez-Gonzáles and peers, conducted a stool test in the clinical laboratory, and observed
that the stool or feces of humans contains lots of bacteria and microbes which are harmless as
well as pathogenic in nature. The intestinal microflora is vivid and contains around 400
bacterial species. It contains low frequency of pathogenic bacteria named Clostridium
difficile (Martínez-Gonzáles, et al., 2017). The major types of microbes that are found in
the intestine are obligate anaerobes that are considered as the natural microflora and helps in
protecting the inner lining of the intestine. They are abundantly found in the fecal matter.
Apart from Clostridium, several other bacteria can be observed in intestine or feces which are
harmless such as Bacteroides and other species of Clostridium like
Eubacterium, Lactobacillus and Peptostreptococcus species (Canny & McCormick, 2008).
They are found on the toilet seats, washroom floors, shoes, clothes, and quite many places but
they are harmless and do not cause any damage and infection to healthy human body due to a
stronger immune system to fight back these bacteria (Chodosh, 2018).
Another study by Wilson, states that the feces also contain some bacterial strains of
Campylobacter, Escherichia coli, Shigella, and Salmonella which can result in minor
infections and are reported by the major carrier of the highly prevalent diseases like diarrhea,
cholera and food poisoning (Wilson, 2018).