Filthy lucre: A metagenomic pilot study of microbes found on circulating currency in New York City

Maritz, Julia M.; Sullivan, Steven A.; Prill, Robert J.; Aksoy, Emre; Scheid, Paul; Carlton, Jane M.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0175527

Cited by 20 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…We found more frequently the presence of potentially pathogenic S. aureus, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Bacillus cereus or Neisseria flavescens in case of more than one percent of E. faecalis DNA compared to less than one percent in total bacterial 16S rRNA of studied 27 mobile phones (10/15 vs. 3/12, respectively; p=0.031). The non-pathogenic skin microbe M. luteus frequently found in large amounts on circulating currencies 20,21 was also found more frequently on phones with more than one compared to less than one percent (11/15 vs. 4/12, respectively; p=0.038) of E. faecalis DNA (Table 1). Although in our study an evaluation of the health condition of schoolchildren was not addressed, E. faecalis appeared to be a good environmental contamination indicator.…”

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confidence: 99%

High level bacterial contamination of secondary school students’ mobile phones

Kõljalg

Mändar

Sõber³

et al. 2017

GERMS

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Introduction While contamination of mobile phones in the hospital has been found to be common in several studies, little information about bacterial abundance on phones used in the community is available. Our aim was to quantitatively determine the bacterial contamination of secondary school students' mobile phones.Methods Altogether 27 mobile phones were studied. The contact plate method and microbial identification using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer were used for culture studies. Quantitative PCR reaction for detection of universal 16S rRNA, Enterococcus faecalis 16S rRNA and Escherichia coli allantoin permease were performed, and the presence of tetracycline (tetA, tetB, tetM), erythromycin (ermB) and sulphonamide (sul1) resistance genes was assessed.Results We found a high median bacterial count on secondary school students' mobile phones (10.5 CFU/cm 2 ) and a median of 17,032 bacterial 16S rRNA gene copies per phone. Potentially pathogenic microbes (Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter spp., Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus cereus and Neisseria flavescens) were found among dominant microbes more often on phones with higher percentage of E. faecalis in total bacterial 16S rRNA. No differences in contamination level or dominating bacterial species between phone owner's gender and between phone types (touch screen/keypad) were found. No antibiotic resistance genes were detected on mobile phone surfaces. Conclusion Quantitative study methods revealed high level bacterial contamination of secondary school students' mobile phones.

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confidence: 99%

High level bacterial contamination of secondary school students’ mobile phones

Kõljalg

Mändar

Sõber³

et al. 2017

GERMS

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“…This study reveals new findings that will guide authorities, banks and the Fintech industry to point out the importance of using digital financial services instead of traditional methods. The study also revealed the most important finding, which is the following: Fintech perception and behavior (Fintech Behavior before COVID-19, Fintech Behavior after COVID-19, and Fintech Perception after COVID- 19) have the greatest impact on and association with predicting the spread of COVID-19 among people (52.5%). People think that avoiding physical contact with cash and any payment tools or methods helps reduce the spread of COVID-19 by changing their financial behavior, especially during the pandemic, toward using electronic and contactless payment methods.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 82%

The role of Fintech in predicting the spread of COVID-19

Daqar

Constantinovits

Arqawi

et al. 2021

Banks and Bank Systems

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This study aims to investigate the role of Fintech in predicting the spread of COVID-19 based on consumers’ Fintech perceptions and behavior before and after the outbreak of COVID-19. The study used a questionnaire-based survey distributed in different countries of the world using the LinkedIn platform for this purpose to reach the targeted population. The snowball sampling technique was used. The study targeted consumers with Fintech experience, especially in digital payments services. 507 samples were retrieved. For the analysis, the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used. The study revealed novel results in predicting COVID-19 spread; these three variables (Fintech Behavior before COVID-19, Fintech Behavior after COVID-19, and Fintech Perception after COVID-19) could predict 52.5% of the variance in the dependent variable (COVID-19 Spread) (R² = 0.525, p &lt; 0.05). The findings show that Higher Fintech perception and behavior among Fintech users will help in reducing the spread of COVID-19 by avoiding the use of contact payment methods. Contactless payment methods are the main tools in Fintech that might help in avoiding the probability of COVID-19 spread. Consumers’ Fintech perceptions and behavior are the most influencing factors that could predict the spread of COVID-19 in this study, where digital payments are the main concern. It is recommended that consumers adopt digital payment methods and tools, especially contactless payment methods, to fulfill their financial services. Other researchers are also encouraged to use the same model to predict the spread of this virus in the Fintech context.

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“…To control the outbreak, it is pertinent to identify the potential source of infection in community, characterize the route and break the chain of transmission. Like other fomites, banknote is an ideal source of pathogenic microbes (Gabriel et al, 2013; Hiko et al, 2016; Jalali et al, 2015; Maritz et al, 2017; Pal and Bhadada, 2020; Thomas et al, 2008). Microbes remain infective in papers, stability depends on initial loads, temperature, and moisture content of the surrounding environment (Pastorino et al, 2020).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence and stability of SARS CoV-2 RNA on Bangladeshi banknotes

Akter¹,

Roy²,

Ferdaus³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Originating at December 2019 in China, SARS-CoV-2 has emerged as the deadliest pandemic in the history of mankind. Along with direct contact and droplet contaminations, possibility of infections through contaminated surfaces and fomites are being investigated. In this study, we aim to assess the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA by real time one-step reverse transcriptase PCR on banknotes being circulating in Bangladesh. We also assessed the persistence of the virus on banknotes spiked with SARS-CoV-2 positive diluted human nasopharyngeal samples. Among the 425 banknote samples collected from different entities, 7.29% (n= 31) were tested positive for targeted genes. Twenty four representative positive samples were assessed for N gene fragments by conventional PCR and sequenced. All the samples carry viral RNA belonged to GR clade, the predominant circulating clade in Bangladesh. In the test of stability, the N gene was detected for up to 72 h on banknotes spiked with nasopharyngeal samples and CT values increases significantly with time (p<0.05). ORF1b gene was observed to be less stable specially on old banknotes and usually went beyond detectable limit within 8 to 10 h. The stability of virus RNA was well fitted by Weibull model and concave curve for new banknotes and convex curve for old banknotes have been revealed. Handling of banknotes is unavoidable; hence these findings implicated that in order to limit SARS-CoV-2 transmission through banknotes proper hygiene practice are needed.

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Filthy lucre: A metagenomic pilot study of microbes found on circulating currency in New York City

Cited by 20 publications

References 64 publications

High level bacterial contamination of secondary school students’ mobile phones

High level bacterial contamination of secondary school students’ mobile phones

The role of Fintech in predicting the spread of COVID-19

Prevalence and stability of SARS CoV-2 RNA on Bangladeshi banknotes

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