Paper Currency: A Potential Fomite for Pathogenic Bacteria

• Main Authors: Beenish Raees, Amna Shafiq, Shazia Tabassum Hakim, Sayyada Ghufrana Nadeem
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Jinnah University for Women 2014-07-01
• Series: RADS Journal of Biological Research & Applied Science
• Subjects: Paper currency; Contamination; Market places; Pathogenic microorganisms
• Online Access: http://jbas.juw.edu.pk/index.php/JBAS/article/view/19

Currency is proved as a vector, vehicle or as a fomite for the transmission of various diseases and spreading the disease from one to another. Currency’s condition depends upon the people varying health, hygiene and living standards and also on the environmental and storage factors of the money. Due to this, money carry potential pathogenic organisms and these organisms became the reason of illness of the people who handled or receive them from other. The aim of the study is to isolate and to identify the organisms present on the currency. Swab samples collected from the paper currency of different places i.e. market place, food vendor, butcher shop and green grocery shop and subjected for the bacteriological analysis. In the present study Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp, Staphylococcus aureus were observed in high percentage and Streptococcus pneumonia, Proteus mirabilis, Salmonella spp, Bacillus spp in lower percentage. It is concluded from the study that these organisms are part of our environment, and currency act as a transmitting vehicle of these organism which further became the source of different infectious diseases so these must be handled with great care so as to reduce the risk of disease transmission.