Bacterial Hotspot? What a New Study Reveals About Cell Phones in Veterinary Hospitals.

By Steve Mehler, DVM, DACVS

Walk into any veterinary hospital and you'll see one piece of equipment that almost every veterinarian and technician carries—but it's probably not listed on the inventory.

A cell phone.

We use them to communicate with colleagues, look up drug dosages, review radiographs, access medical records, answer client questions, set timers during anesthesia, and even take clinical photographs.

But here's the question researchers recently asked:

Are our phones becoming bacterial hotspots?

A new study published in Vet Record Open investigated bacterial contamination on mobile phones used in the theatre (surgical) areas of a large veterinary teaching hospital. The findings don't necessarily mean our phones are causing infections—but they do remind us that infection control extends beyond our hands and instruments.

Why Study Cell Phones?

Human hospitals have long recognized mobile phones as potential fomites—objects capable of carrying microorganisms from one place to another.

Previous human healthcare studies have reported contamination rates ranging from 72.6% to nearly 100%, including multidrug-resistant bacteria.

Veterinary medicine has far less research on the topic.

Because veterinarians constantly move between patients, exam rooms, treatment areas, and operating rooms while carrying their phones, researchers wanted to know:

How contaminated are veterinary cell phones?

The Study

Researchers sampled both personal and work mobile phones belonging to veterinarians and veterinary nurses working in the theatre area of a large veterinary hospital.

Each phone was:

• Swabbed for bacterial culture

• Gram stained

• Colony counts were measured

• Participants completed surveys about phone hygiene habits

In total:

39 mobile phones were evaluated.

What Did They Find?

Forty-one percent of phones grew bacteria

Sixteen of the 39 phones cultured positive for bacterial contamination.

That doesn't necessarily sound alarming until you remember these phones are being handled around surgical patients.

Veterinarians' phones were contaminated more often

One of the most interesting findings was the difference between professional groups.

Researchers found:

• 62.5% of veterinarians' phones grew bacteria

• 6.7% of nurses' phones grew bacteria

This difference was statistically significant.

The study wasn't designed to determine why this occurred, but it highlights that work habits likely influence contamination.

What bacteria were present?

The majority of isolates were relatively common skin-associated organisms.

The most common were:

• Gram-positive cocci (38.4%)

• Gram-positive coccobacilli (5.1%)

• Gram-positive rods (5.1%)

• Gram-negative rods (2.6%)

Importantly, the study did not identify widespread multidrug-resistant pathogens or demonstrate that these organisms caused disease.

Finding bacteria on a phone is very different from proving that a patient became infected because of that phone.

Some Phones Were Heavily Contaminated

Most contaminated phones had relatively modest bacterial growth.

However...

Two phones contained more than 4,000 colony-forming units (CFU/mL).

That suggests that at least occasionally, phones can accumulate substantial bacterial burdens.

Phone Hygiene Wasn't Great

The participant survey revealed some interesting habits.

• 76% reported using their phone in clinical areas.

• 57% cleaned their phone less than once per week.

• Nearly one-quarter used non-antibacterial cleaning products.

• About 23% reported recently using their phone in the bathroom.

None of these behaviors prove contamination, but together they help explain why bacteria may accumulate on frequently handled devices.

Does This Mean Phones Cause Surgical Infections?

This is where it's important not to overinterpret the findings.

The researchers did not study surgical site infections.

They did not track patient outcomes.

They did not demonstrate bacterial transmission from phones to animals.

Instead, they showed something much more limited:

Phones used in veterinary clinical environments commonly carry bacteria.

Whether those bacteria ever cause disease remains unknown.

Why This Still Matters

Infection control isn't built around one dramatic intervention.

It's built around many small habits.

Hand hygiene.

Instrument sterilization.

Surface disinfection.

Proper surgical preparation.

Appropriate antimicrobial stewardship.

Phone hygiene simply represents another potential opportunity to reduce contamination.

As hospitals become increasingly digital, our phones have effectively become another piece of medical equipment—but unlike stethoscopes, they are often forgotten during cleaning protocols.

Practical Tips

Fortunately, improving phone hygiene is simple.

Consider:

• Cleaning your phone daily with manufacturer-approved disinfectant wipes.

• Avoiding phone use during sterile procedures whenever possible.

• Performing hand hygiene after handling your phone in clinical areas.

• Keeping phones away from surgical instrument tables and sterile fields.

• Including mobile devices in hospital infection-control discussions.

None of these recommendations eliminate infection risk, but together they may reduce unnecessary bacterial transfer.

The Bottom Line

This study doesn't suggest your phone is a dangerous source of infection.

It does suggest something much simpler:

Our phones collect bacteria because they go everywhere we do.

As veterinary medicine increasingly embraces evidence-based infection control, mobile phone hygiene may become one more easy, inexpensive practice that helps reduce environmental contamination.

Sometimes the most overlooked piece of equipment in the hospital is the one sitting in your pocket.

Reference

Glenn OJ, Telford L, Pratschke KM. Bacterial contamination on mobile phones in the theatre area of a large veterinary hospital. Veterinary Record Open. 2025. doi:10.1002/vro2.70016.