Knowledge and ideas circulate freely at international conferences but so do germs carried from abroad on mobile phones, a new study shows. Lead author Dr. Lotti Tajouri of Bond University says the data builds a case that international travelers' phones should be decontaminated at ports of entry to protect native plants and animals, agriculture and public health .
For the study , published in Infection, Disease & Health , researchers swabbed 20 phones belonging to attendees at a world conference for doctors in Sydney in 2023. The samples underwent DNA analysis that revealed 2,204 microbes on the devices, including 882 bacteria, 1,229 viruses, 88 fungi, and five single-celled protists. Among the microbes present on the surface of the mobile phones were antibiotic-resistant bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, known for causing infections in hospitals, and Pantoea stewartii which affects crops and can also cause septicemia in rare native Australian parrots.
Dr. Tajouri, an Associate Professor of molecular genetics, said although the sample size of 20 phones was small, the findings should be a red flag to the Australian biosecurity system. "The study demonstrates large numbers of microbes are being introduced to Australia via the microbial-contaminated mobile phones of travelers, posing potential threats to local ecosystems, agriculture and public health," Dr.
Tajouri said. "Take only the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria on the phones of international travelers. Thi.