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Cell Phones May Spread Infections

Posted by michael on from the don't-know-where-that-phone-has-been dept.

CHaN_316 writes "Yahoo is running an article talking about how cell phones from health workers are helping spread dangerous infections in hospitals. 'They found that 12 percent of healthcare providers' cell phones were contaminated with [Acinetobacter baumannii]. The results are disturbing because [it] has the propensity to develop resistance to almost all available antibiotics ... Cell phones provide a large dry surface that allows survival of A. baumannii--it requires no nutrients ... [it] is found in intensive care units, and the mortality rate among infected patients is very high -- between 50 and 60 percent.' The hospital that conducted this research no longer allows the use of cell phones, and are switching to devices that don't require hand contact like pagers." So how long before someone develops a cell phone that can be dunked in alcohol or run through the autoclave to sterilize it?

22 of 286 comments (clear)

  1. Telephone Sanitizers are what we need... by mfarah · · Score: 5, Funny

    Douglas Adams was, once again, an incredible visionary (even if he didn't intend to be one).

    --
    "Trust me - I know what I'm doing."
    - Sledge Hammer
    1. Re:Telephone Sanitizers are what we need... by chmod000 · · Score: 2, Funny

      We should note that on one occasion an interstellar space flight was delayed for >900 years on account of those little lemon-soaked paper thingies.

      --
      Aptal soru yoktur; sadece merakli aptallar vardir.
  2. Already done. by grub · · Score: 5, Funny


    So how long before someone develops a cell phone that can be dunked in alcohol

    Samsung already has. They may not have intended it but mine has been accidently soaked in booze more times than I care to (or can) remember.

    --
    Trolling is a art,
  3. EVIL Verizon Guy calls the hospital ICU... by eviltypeguy · · Score: 3, Funny

    EVIL Verizon Guy calls the hospital ICU...

    Ring...
    "Can you hear me now?"
    "Good!"

    EVIL Verizon Guy hangs up, cackles madly...

    1. Re:EVIL Verizon Guy calls the hospital ICU... by grain · · Score: 3, Funny

      "Can you heal me now?"
      "Good!"
      *gurgle*

  4. Bugs... by johnwyles · · Score: 2, Funny

    So now I have to worry about two kind's of bugs on my cell phone... The diseased bug and the FBI...

    --
    [[ the only 15 letter word that is spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable: it may soon be, however. ]]
  5. And I thouth the real reason... by Cap'n+Canuck · · Score: 2, Funny

    They always said that they didn't want you to use your phone in the hospital, as it would interfere with hospital equipment. Turns out it interferes with your own equipment. Heart, lungs, etc...

  6. Finally... by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 0, Funny

    ...another reason to dislike cellphones. They really are toxic!

    --
    It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
  7. Well, makes sense to me... by big_groo · · Score: 3, Funny
    ...and are switching to devices that don't require hand contact like pagers.

    I keep my pager in my desk drawer. When I'm not in the office, I set it to the most annoying ring/beep, and stick it up in a ceiling tile. Hilarity ensues for co-workers in office.

  8. Oh? by cybermace5 · · Score: 4, Funny

    You can alcohol- or autoclave-sterilize any cell phone today! It just won't work afterwards.

    Seriously though...*doodeedooeeannoyingpolyphonicringTONE* "Hello? Yeah. Uh huh. Well I'm just working on a patient right now. Uh huh. A gallon of milk and some laundry detergent? Ok. Yes I'll remember. I said I'd remember! Last time? But... Yeah last time there was a big traffic jam and I just wanted to get home. Hold on for a sec, I need to install this catheter. Ok, I'm back. What do you mean I don't love you? What? That's not true! I'm sorry? When did I... No that's not what I meant. Ok I'm sorry. What? No, my patients are not more important than you. Uh huh. Yeah. Hmm. Well I'll try harder from now on. Yeah? Ok. All right. Yes I'll remember: milk and detergent. Ok. I love you too. What? Oh. Buh-bye. Yes I love you too. Ok. Bye then."

    --
    ...
  9. Not to worry... by Linker3000 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Surely we can just crank up the transmission power of the phones and fry the little beggars!? Die Die Die!

    --
    AT&ROFLMAO
  10. Good!! by moehoward · · Score: 4, Funny

    I, for one, welcome our new toxic wireless overlords.

    Now, I can kill my enemies with a simple "Here, it's for you..."

    In the past, I had to pass them a tin can connected to a string that previously contained bad salmon.

    --
    "If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid." - Epictetus
  11. Re:Ya by bhima · · Score: 4, Funny

    The biggest spreaders of disease are my co-workers small children.

    --
    Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
  12. autoclave by Luveno · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'll gladly volunteer my pager for autoclave survival testing.

  13. I used to wash my hands in Carbon Tet. by jbottero · · Score: 2, Funny

    Ahhhh, in the day, before the EPA, OSHA and FDA got their hands on workplace health hazards, we used to use Carbon Tet to clean EVERYTHING.

  14. Buckets of water... by Rai · · Score: 2, Funny

    I used to work for a hospital's IT dept and part of the job was maintaining Nortel companion phones for one of the nursing depts. Every couple of months, they would bring a non-working phone to us saying it fell in a bucket of water. We always wonder why the nursing dept would keep a bucket of water at their station. Eventually, we learned that "bucket of water" was their term for "toilet." How's that for sanitary? :)

  15. Pagers that don't need hand contact? by ziriyab · · Score: 1, Funny
    ...and are switching to devices that don't require hand contact like pagers.

    They must be talking about those new anal pagers that give you the message by anal-braille. The anus has a pretty high concentration of sensory endings, so it makes perfect sense to use it instead of less sensitive parts like the hip or back. Plus it's close to where the pager is usually located anyway.

    You may think that clean-up would be an issue, but you can buy these cute little disposable latex covers for the insertable part.

  16. Re:And what about Medical PDAs??? by know_gnus · · Score: 2, Funny

    Medical PDAs? I thought we were trying to *stop* the spread of infection. Public displays of affection, like any sort of bodily contact, can easily continue to propigate disease. Besides, PDA makes me sick to my stomach anyway...

  17. If only... by fiannaFailMan · · Score: 2, Funny

    Now if only a similar scare could make it into the headlines saying "Using a cellphone when driving can give you SARS." Or better still, "Using a cellphone when driving and simultaniously talking at the top of your voice so that everyone else stopped at the lights can hear you as you wave your arms around emphatically can seriously increase risk of developing a serious illness." Maybe then I could get to work without having at least one near-death experience every morning.

    --
    Drill baby drill - on Mars
  18. No platform is safe... by retro128 · · Score: 4, Funny

    See everyone? Your cell phone CAN spread viruses!

    --
    -R
  19. Causes other things, too by Le+Marteau · · Score: 2, Funny

    I gave up my cell phone years ago when I realized that 75% of the time I saw a cell phone, I saw it attached to the ear of a jackass, and I'm not taking any chances... I quit the things cold turkey.

    Not sure if the cell phone causes its user to become a jackass, or if jackasses use cell phones, but why take the chance unnecessarily?

    --
    Mod down people who tell people how to mod in their sigs
  20. Re:Sterile cell phones by EvilTwinSkippy · · Score: 2, Funny
    Better yet, develop a plastic bag large enough to go completely over the head of the next person I see on a Cell phone.

    I think I'll call it Cell-O-Phone. Won't turn off those annoying rings, but it does dramatically reduce the volume of the speaker.

    --
    "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
    --Dr.W.Edwards Deming