In line with this, our research is focused on determining if the material of which the banknotes are manufactured is a factor that influences the bacterial survival rate and the bacterial adherence to the banknotes. The cotton used for the paper banknotes is sometimes mixed with linen, abaca, or other textile fibers and infused with polyvinyl alcohol or gelatin.
Because they are frequently in contact with, or exposed to, numerous individuals, surfaces (objects), food and aerosols, they may be responsible for the spread of many diseases.īanknotes mainly fall into two large groups, paper banknotes, actually manufactured from cotton fiber, and the plastic (or polymer) banknotes. The risk of bacterial contamination from the banknote bills is high as indicated by both a strong survival capacity and low adherence of tested bacteria with differences between the two types of materials used for the tested banknotes.īanknotes, often called paper currency, are generally considered to be one of the most common fomites that people handle. The adherence of bacterial strains was lower for polymer-based banknotes British pounds and Romanian Leu, in contrast to the cotton-based U.S dollars and Euro banknotes. Survival rate is also influenced by the substrate composition, being lower for polymer-based banknotes especially for Salmonella enterica, Listeria monocytogenes and Enterococcus sp. monocytogenes tended to improve persistence in humid conditions. Our data showed that Salmonella enterica survived 72 h on every banknote tested, while L. Some of the most important factors for the survival of pathogenic agents on surfaces are the presence of organic matter, temperature and humidity. However, Maldi-TOF analysis from samples taken from the banknotes revealed only a few of the common pathogens that are traditionally thought to be found on banknotes. Microorganisms were selected in accordance with the criteria of prevalence, pathogenicity, opportunism, and incidence. enterica serovar Typhi ATCC 6539, and Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 7644. We used five reference microorganisms by American Type Culture Collection (ATCC, Manassas, VA, USA): Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, Escherichia coli ATCC 8739, Enterococcus sp.
dollars (1 $, 5 $ and 10 $) and Euros (5 €, 10 € and 20 €) in order to evaluate the bacterial survival rate and bacterial adherence. Therefore, in the present study, we analyzed different currency bills represented by British pounds (5 £, 10 £ and 20 £), Romanian lei (1 leu, 5 lei and 10 lei), U.S. In the COVID-19 pandemic context, numerous concerns have been raised regarding the hygienic status of certain objects we interact with on a daily basis, and especially cash money and their potential to harbor and transmit pathogenic bacteria.