1. Introduction
People believe that microbes are only present in research labs or in hospitals and clinics and thus they have a
misleading feeling of security in other places. Lack of knowledge about where germs prowl could be the cause of
health problems. In fact 80% of infections are spread through hand contact with hands or other objects (AlGhamdi et al. 2011).
The presence of viable pathogenic bacteria on inanimate objects has been reported by earlier investigators.
Several studies of the human environment have demonstrated colonization and contamination of objects such as
door handles, faucets, phones, money, fabrics and plastics (Oluduro et al. 2011). Computers continue to have an
increased presence in almost every aspect of our occupational, recreational, and residential environments. In the
university environment, students have indicated that 100% have access to computers, 92.1% regularly use the
Internet, and 73.3% regularly use e-mail. To accommodate the extensive use of computer technology,
universities have developed multiple-user ‘‘computer laboratories'' on campus for general student access
(Anderson & Palombo 2009).
The increased availability of multiple-user computers in the organization setting means that these items or
equipment are handled by numerous users on a daily basis. Given that computers are not routinely disinfected,
the opportunity for the transmission of contaminating microorganisms is potentially great. Our understanding of
the ubiquity of microorganism in the environment is developing, but the risk or hazard of contamination posed
by the computer keyboards and mouse is not yet fully understood. No clear legislation or even widely recognized
guidelines have been formulated on the hazard caused by computer components (Kumar & Srivastava
2012).This is not in the best interest of campus students especially that computer keyboards and mice could
spread significant number of pathogens(Enemuor et al. 2012).
To our knowledge ,there are no work has been reported on bacterial contamination on computer equipment
(keyboard and mouse) used in university settings in Iraq, So the present study aimed to investigate the presence
of bacteria on computer keyboards and computer mice that are frequently used by students in the main internet
center of Al-Mustansiriya University, Baghdad.