Antibiotic Susceptibility Profile of Bacteria Isolated from Kenyan Bank Notes Circulating in Nyeri Town

Abstract

Aims: The aim of this study was to characterize bacteria isolated from circulating Kenyan banknotes and also antibiotic susceptibility profiles within Nyeri County.
 Study Design: This was a cross-sectional study and simple random sampling was used to collect 25 of each paper currency denomination.
 Place and Duration of Study: Samples analyses were done at Outspan Teaching and Referral Hospital (OTRH) laboratory, between March, 2019 and April, 2019.
 Methodology: Total of 125 currencies of five different denominations were collected from different marketing sources such as Butcheries, Restaurants, Health facilities, Mpesa outlets and Transport Saccos and dropped in sterile bags. The bacterial isolates were characterized on the basis of their morphology, staining and biochemical tests. Antibiotic sensitivity tests were done by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion technique.
 Results: Total of 19 different bacterial species were isolated from five Kenyan Bank note currencies. Of these, 37 (52.2%) was Staphylococcus aureus followed by Staphylococcus sciuri ssp.lentus 7 (9.9%), Staphylococcus gallinarum 2 (2.8%), Staphylococcus intermedius 6 (8.5%), Micrococcus sp. 1 (1.4%), Staphylococcus schleiferi ssp.coagulans 2 (2.8%), Staphylococcus sciuri ssp.rodentium 1 (1.4%), Kluyvera ascorbata 1 (1.4%), Proteus penneri 1 (1.4%), Aeromonas media 3 (4.2%), Burkholderia cepacia ssp.komplex (1.4%), Aeromonas enteropelogenes 1 (1.4%), Enterobacter cloacae 1 (1.4%), Klebsiella oxytoca 2 (2.8%), Leclercia adecarboxylata 1 (1.4%), Raoultella ornithinolytica 1 (1.4%), Vibrio metschnikovii 1 (1.4%), Myroides odoratus 1 (1.4%) and Yersinia pestis 1 (1.4%). Overall gram positive and gram negative bacterial isolates exhibited resistance to vancomycin, clindamycin and amoxycilin with percentages 40 (71%), 28 (50%), and 37 (66%) and 9 (64%), 8 (57%) and 6 (43%) respectively.
 Conclusion: This study revealed that Kenyan banknote currencies circulating in Nyeri County were contaminated with different pathogenic and potential pathogenic bacteria including multi drug resistant strains. Hence, great care must be taken while handling money during the preparation and handling of food to avoid cross contamination.

First detection of an OXA-48-producing Enterobacter cloacae isolate from currency coins in Algeria

“…Most of the bacterial species identified here have been implicated in many life threatening infections, which could pose a health risk particularly to immune compromised individuals in the community. In addition, to P. libanensis detected here for the first time from currency, the other GNB species have been already described with different levels of antibiotic resistance [3] , [8] , [9] , [13] , [14] . The obtained isolates could be from several sources depending on environmental conditions, age of money, handling or the poor sanitary condition and hygienic practices exercised by those manipulating currencies [2] , [3] .…”

“…However, after the outbreaks of some transmissible diseases, these reports have gained some serious consideration [11] , [12] and revealed that coins and paper currencies can serve as an ideal breeding for the multiplication of microorganisms [1] . In this study, we isolated different Gram negative bacteria species in agreement with several studies carried out on coin and paper currency collected from different sites including hospitals, public transport conductors and food vendors among different countries [1] , [2] , [3] , [9] , [13] . Most of the bacterial species identified here have been implicated in many life threatening infections, which could pose a health risk particularly to immune compromised individuals in the community.…”

“…Since then, the OXA-48 enzyme has become endemic in many areas, particularly in the Mediterranean region, especially North African countries [7] , where Algeria is known by the huge spread of this gene from different sources, including the community setting. In most parts of the world, it is believed that the simultaneous handling of food and money contributes to the frequency of food borne infectious agents, thus risking the safety of consumers in the community [1] , [8] , [9] . To the best of our knowledge, no studies have been published on carbapenemase-producing Gram negative bacteria from currency and no data were available.…”