Introduction / background / objectives:

Mobile phones are used more frequently, both in a personal and professional context. Several researchers have presented evidence that they are objects that generally contain several microorganisms, some of which are possibly pathogenic. There will be some professional sectors where this issue may become problematic, namely between hospital health institutions (not only due to the type of microorganisms that exist, but also due to the immunosuppression and/ or general bad medical conditions of the individuals present). The aim of this review is to understand what is described in terms of biological risk for workers who handle mobile phones, although almost all published studies convert to the Health sector and the emphasis is given to patients (and secondarily to the community) and not to the workers themselves.

Methodology:

It is a Scoping Review, initiated through a survey conducted in April 2019 in the databases “CINALH plus with full text, Medline with full text, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Methodology Register, Nursing and Allied Health Collection: comprehensive, MedicLatina and RCAAP”.

Content:

The temperature of the mobile phone can create good conditions for the development of some microorganisms. From here they can pass to the user's face, eyes and mouth. In addition, some of the mobile phones used at work are not just for one person, but are passed between shifts; in some countries they are shared by several members of the family and/ or lent to children, to play. In addition, many use this object during meals/ in the kitchen and even when they are in the bathroom, which enhances the microbiological load.

Smartphones appear to be more contaminated, due to being generally larger and providing more interaction and handling; simultaneously, those with a touch screen have less colonization than keyboards (possibly due to the homogeneity of the surface).

Some researchers have hypothesized that there is a relationship between the colonization of some mobile phones and that which exists inside women's bags, where they are usually transported.

Conclusions:

Although the studies were very dispar in relation to looking for any type of microorganisms or just bacteria or viruses and in addition to the microbiological diversity between countries, the different cultivation techniques certainly made it possible for some strains to grow and others not to be viable. Although these biases can justified some significant percentage differences, it was also clear that all cell phones contain numerous microorganisms, although most of these are not relevant for immunocompetent individuals, but all articles were written before the Pandemic by Covid-19 .

Thus, in the context of Occupational Health, there seems to be no significant risk for workers who are not immunosuppressed. However, the exceptions, simultaneously, can become relevant: for Employees with changes in the functioning of the immune system, for microorganisms with multidrug resistance to conventionally used drugs and, obviously, at this stage (april 2020) for new strains, for which there is still no natural immunity (by previous infection) or provided by an effective vaccine and, therefore, capable of causing very extensive disease in populations and, although the number of serious cases is small, given the contagion dimension, this acquires a very relevant amplitude, for all its human, emotional, technical, labor and economic implications.

For this reason, it is recommended to use the phone very carefully (especially in circumstances where biological contamination is more likely and/ or intense), both at work and in a personal context; as well as the proper and regular disinfection of these objects, by 70% alcohol.

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