Bacterial contamination of Ugandan paper currency notes possessed by food vendors around Mulago Hospital complex, Uganda

Abstract

Introduction Paper currency notes, exchangeable fomite, that is continuously contaminated because of the poor handling and storage practices. Objective: the general objective of the study was to determine the bacterial contamination of paper currency notes possessed by food vendors around Mulago National Referral Hospital Complex. Methods A total of sixty paper notes of six denominations (1000, 2000, 5000, 10000, 20000, 50000) were collected from different food vendors. Each note was preserved in a sterile falcon tube and transported to the microbiology lab for bacteriological examination. Data from questionnaires was analyzed using SPSS version 23 (IBM SPSS Statistics). Results All sampled paper notes had bacterial contamination. The bacterial counts ranged from 4×10 2 cfu/ml to 6.8×10 9 cfu/ml, with the Shs.1000 notes having the highest average total bacterial load of 2.17×10 9 cfu/ml and highest average total coli form counts of 21.5×10 2 cfu/ml. The fifty thousand shillings note had no coliform detected. Of the analysed 60 samples, 27(45%) samples contained Staphylococcus aureus . None of the sampled paper notes had Escherichia coli . Conclusion The study revealed that most of Ugandan paper notes are contaminated with bacteria including potential pathogens that cause disease in healthy individuals and opportunistic pathogens that may cause disease in hospitalized and immunocompromised patients. This study showed that the most contaminated note denominations were those of low denomination (Shs.1000 and Shs.2000) which had the highest bacterial count. The study revealed the paper currency notes were stored in different places where the commonest was the drawer and kept with different items, the commonest being pens. Hence, great care must be taken while handling money during the preparation and handling of food to avoid cross contamination.

Microbial contamination of Naira notes circulating in Bauchi metropolis: prevalence, microbial load and detection of extended spectrum beta-lactamase producing Gram-negative bacteria

“…The contamination of the notes with several known human pathogens concurs with several other reports (30,32). The predominance of E. coli and other enteric Gram-negative bacteria among the isolated bacteria may be due to poor hygiene (both personal and environmental) in the study area.…”

“…Additionally, activities of cyber-criminals popularly known as 'Yahoo-Yahoo' using deceptive banking tools to defraud unsuspecting clients makes the use of physical currency very popular, with attendant health risks (29). Though variation in mean colony counts among currency of the same denomination exist, the heavy contamination of lower denomination currencies (N100 to N5) observed in this study concurs with the findings of other researchers (30,31). This may be attributed to high use and frequent exchange of lower denomination currencies than the higher denominations in daily cash transactions (31).…”

Persistence of Pathogens on Inanimate Surfaces: A Narrative Review

“…In addition to respiratory, fecal-oral and sexual transmission, the transmission of pathogens between hosts via fomites plays an important role in the spread of infectious diseases. Surface contamination has been described before [ 1 , 2 , 3 ] and has also been demonstrated via experimental modelling [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Importantly, the origin of various outbreaks of infectious diseases has been linked to fomite-mediated transmission [ 1 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ].…”

Microbiological Analysis and Identification of Pathogenic Microorganisms on Currency Notes (Congolese Francs) in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

“…It has promoted trade in communities since its first introduction in China approximately 1,000 AD [7]. Mostly used as a medium for exchange for goods and services; settlement of debts and for deferred payments in economic activities [8]. Current currency notes are made from a special blend of linen; cotton and gelatin from animals for the surface coating of currency paper note with few segments of fiber and the mixture of all the materials used make them strong.…”

“…Current currency notes are made from a special blend of linen; cotton and gelatin from animals for the surface coating of currency paper note with few segments of fiber and the mixture of all the materials used make them strong. Recently, many nations adopted the plastic polymer made currency transferring from paper made [8][9]. However, the general hygiene levels of a community or society contribute to the amount of microbes found on currency notes, and thus increases chances of transmission of microbes during the handling of money.…”