Identification of Fungi on Mobile Phone Surfaces and Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Antibiotics Against Them
Keywords:
Mobile Phone, Fungi, Antibiotics, Virulence FactorsAbstract
Mobile phones are a means by which many pathogens, including fungi, are transmitted. Therefore, this research examined the insulation and recognition of fungi isolated from mobile phones used by university professors and staff, as well as doctors, pharmacists, taxi drivers, and restaurant workers. A total of 80 samples were collected from 2024-12-1, to 2025-2-1. The study addressed the virulence factors of Aspergillus chevalieri, one of the fungi isolated from mobile phones, which include the capacity to adhere, the capacity to make blood disintegrate, and the synthesis of proteolytic enzymes, lipids, and proteases. Drug sensitivity of A. chevalieri to antifungals was tested. The study's findings demonstrated the existence of fungi upon mobile phones, as fungus Aspergillus spp was prevalent in all types of phones, and the species appeared in A. fumigatus 17 at a rate of (17%), as the highest rate was recorded, followed by the fungus A. niger at a rate of (13%), the fungus A. candidus at a rate of (12%), the fungus A. chevalieri and A. flavus at a rate of (11%), the fungus A. terreus eight isolates at a rate of (8%), seven isolates Penicillium spp at a rate of (7%), six isolates of Mucor spp, three isolates of Alternaria spp, two isolates of each fungus, Cladosporium spp and C. parapsilosis, and four isolates of each fungus Paecilomyces spp, Rhizopus spp. Molecular identification of A. chevalieri revealed that it contained a 500 bp DNA band. The results of the genetic tree analysis and registration on the global GenBank website also showed a similarity between our isolates and global isolates. A. chevalieri's virulence factors were examined, and the findings demonstrated that spores could cling to epithelial cells by 25%. Regarding the capacity to dissolve blood, favorable outcomes were shown, as it was an alpha-type hemolysis, and it could produce the protease, as the diameter of the hemolysis area on the test medium reached about 22.16 mm, and the lipase, as the hemolysis area reached 15.18 mm, and the production of the urease was 100%. Regarding the drug sensitivity of A. chevalieri to antifungals utilizing the disk diffusion technique, Nystatin proved to be the most effective in inhibiting fungal growth with an average diameter of 25.3 mm, while Amphotercin B and Itraconazole gave a positive result but less inhibition than Nystatin, and their inhibition percentage was 10.5 mm and 18.1 mm, while the result of the test for Fluconazole was negative and did not provide effectiveness in inhibiting fungal growth.
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