Beware, a recent study has identified 3,000 types of bacteria on currency all over the world. Most of the bacteria were unsurprisingly microbes found on the skin, while others matched those found in mouths, and even some in vaginas, according to the study conducted by New York University’s Center for Genomics and Systems Biology.Another study by a group of Sudanese microbiologists concludes that although the lower values of banknotes were highly contaminated but there is a negative correlation between banknotes value and microbial contamination. “We are finding viable bacteria that can be taken from paper currency,” said Jane Carlton, the lead investigator of the study and director of genome sequencing at NYUs Center for Genomics and Systems Biology. “That means that money could function as a form of transmission.” The study was part of a pilot project to identify bacteria and health trends in New York City. For example, some of the findings pointed to the prevalence of pneumonia on paper money during winter time. The researchers found that bills collected in winter, versus the summer, were more likely to have microbes of community-acquired pneumonia; suggesting that money could be playing a role its spread. While the most common microbes found were linked to mild conditions such as acne, one other discovery stands out. Some dollar bills had bacteria containing antibiotic resistant genes, such as MRSA. These resistant genes have been a particularly pressing issue for the medical community as doctors prescribe, and patients increasingly ask for, antibiotics to deal with illness. Nonetheless, the NYU biologists said that there is no reason to overreact. “Microbes are so important, are very ubiquitous and they surround us all the time,” Carlton told ABC News. “We did find certain microbes that we might be a little concerned about, but that doesn’t mean that people should be unduly concerned.” Another research on Isolation and Identification of Pathogenic Bacteria and Fungi from Some Sudanese Banknote Currency was conducted by a team of scientists including Abdulmoneim M. Saadabi, Lina F. Ali, A.B. Omer, G.A. Ahmed and Rofieda K. Al Asa This research concluded that banknotes in different values were critically infected by dangerous microbes. They even contained fungal genera Trichophyton sp., Microsporum sp., Epidermophyton sp., Taenia sp., Aspergillus sp. and Saccharomyces sp. The genera of bacteria that isolated were Escherichia coli, Citrobacter sp., Klebsiella sp., Proteus sp., Bacillus sp., Corynebacterium sp. and Staphylococcus sp. The potential currency notes to act as environmental vehicles for transmission of pathogenic fungi and bacteria was assessed. Prevention and cure : The results suggest that currency notes may be contaminated especially with bacteria and enteric microbes and may serve as a source of infection. Personal hygiene to reduce the risk of infection is recommended. Therefore, a recommendation should be pointed out such as awareness of people is how to handle money emphasizing to reduce their hand contamination so reducing currency pollution; emphasis is to be stressed in the handling of banknotes by children so as to keep them safe from infectious diseases because they may enter all type of currency on their mouth; to develop banknotes manufacture by adding antimicrobial agents as a row material during processing; Re-sterilization of currency when it is dirty and return it back to reduce the risk of infection especially for children; plastic banknotes are strongly recommended and coin currency is sometimes needed.
Posted on: Mon, 19 May 2014 06:35:31 +0000
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