Germinated money of potential disease triggers

Dirty money: Thousands of bacteria colonize banknotes

04/22/2014

New York University (NYU) scientists have discovered a surprisingly high number of microbes on bills. In the first comprehensive study of DNA on dollar bills, the so-called „Dirty Money Project“, the researchers stated, „that money is a medium of exchange for hundreds of different types of bacteria, which are handed down with the banknotes from hand to hand“, reports the NYU.

Due to the passed on pathogens on the bills numerous infectious diseases can be triggered, the NYU, among other things, gastric ulcers, pneumonia and food poisoning as a possible sequelae calls. Some of the bacteria also had gene sequences responsible for antibiotic resistance. „It was amazing“, to see, „that the microbes are growing on the money“, said Jane Carlton, director of the Center for Genomics and Systems Biology at NYU.

More than 3,000 different types of bacteria on bills
In studying the genetic material for one-dollar notes, NYU researchers identified 3,000 types of bacteria. According to their statements, they were only able to assign 20 percent of non-human DNA to certain bacteria, „because many microorganisms are not yet cataloged in the genetic databases.“ The hitherto unpublished research offers an insight into the international problem of dirty money. Hygienists worldwide warn long before the money as a possible source of infection. Philippe Etienne, Managing Director of Innovia Security Pty Ltd, which produces the special banknote paper for 23 countries, told the „Wall Street Journal“, that „the wallet with body temperature like a petri dish“ am working. The bacteria can therefore multiply quickly on the bills. Dirty money is a problem of international proportions, because the dollar, the euro, rupees and other bills would make similarly good germ carriers.

White rhinoceros DNA on the bills
The researchers had detected a total of more than 1.2 billion DNA segments on the bills in the study of 80 one-dollar notes. The discovered DNA was as diverse as New York, with around half of it being human, NYU reports. The researchers found, according to their own information on the bills, among others „Bacteria, viruses, fungi and plant pathogens.“ In addition, would have „very little traces of anthrax and diphtheria“ shown. For example, the DNA of horses and dogs was identified, but also small DNA sections of white rhinoceros could be detected. „A wide range of life was represented on the money“, explained the NYU genome researcher Julia Maritz. Among the detected bacterial species were Staphylococcus aureus (eg trigger of skin infections), Bacillus cereus and Escherischia coli (both triggers of food poisoning) as well as Helicobacter pylori (cause of gastric ulcers) and the Corynebactrium diptheriae (trigger of diphtheria).

Microbiology on the bills
The central banks and ministries of finance around the world, according to the researchers are always worried about the durability and counterfeit security of banknotes, but forget the microbiology. Almost 150 billion new banknotes are circulated worldwide every year, costing governments nearly $ 10 billion. Like the US one-dollar bill, many banknotes are printed on a cotton-linen blend, which promotes the absorption of bacteria due to their suction power. The average shelf life of a one-dollar note is just over 21 months, the researchers report. A period in which a number of pathogens can settle on the bill.

Plastic bills are designed to reduce bacterial load
To make the bills more resistant to bacteria, some countries, such as Canada or the Kingdom of Bhutan, have made banknotes of flexible plastic. These polymer shells were significantly less germ-contaminated than the conventional shells in the following studies at the Australian University of Ballarat. The corresponding study was already published in 2010 in the journal „Foodborne Pathogens and Disease“ released. Philippe Etienne explained that the polymer bills offer a hygienic advantage because they are not absorbent. However, further studies on the bacteria in seven different currencies have found that some germs on the plastic banknotes survived longer. Apparently, people provide the food for the bacteria themselves. These would feed on, for example, wax residue from the skin and oils on the bills. How ugly the bacterial load of the bills can be, microbiologists of the Queen Mary University of London noted as early as 2012, when they found on about six percent of English banknotes a burden of E. coli bacteria, which was comparable to that of a toilet seat. (Fp)