A physician, Dr Arikawe Adeolu, has advised users of cell phones to always clean them regularly with antiseptic wipes to avoid contracting infections from them and lead a healthy life. Adeolu, a general physician with the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday that mobile phones accumulated more germs than toilet seats.
“Researches reveal that cell phones have more than 25,000 germs per square inch making them dirtier than toilet seats,’’ he said.
According to the physician, cell phones picked up these germs and bacteria on different surfaces they are placed either at work places, homes, restaurants or places of worship.
He said that people cleaned their toilets and homes more than they did their mobile phones; making the phones breeding grounds for millions of germs and bacteria.
Adeolu said that because cell phones were rarely cleaned and remained warm from consistent use, germs and bacteria could continuously breed on them.
This could put the users at the risk of contracting various kinds of diseases, he said.
“Some researchers have discovered that the Influenza virus is present in some cell phones.
“E. Coli, a bacterium which is found in faeces, has also been found to be on mobile devices among other bacteria.
“Some studies have shown that nine out of 10 cell phones have the E. Coli bacteria. The phone keeps getting dirty and becomes a breeding ground for germs because we do not sanitise them in any way.
“Because of the presence of the influenza virus, one is at the risk of contracting the flu without knowing how or where it came from. E. coli is responsible for some forms of fever and diarrhoea.
“The germs found on phones cause diseases and so one can pick up different kinds of diseases depending on the type of germ present on the phone,” Adeolu said.
He said that humans were at a greater risk of coming in contact with germs and bacteria from cell phones than from other means.