Indian currency uncovered with microbes retrieved from expected and unexpected transaction points

The aim of the study is to determine the presence, type and nature of bacterial contamination on paper currency and coins in circulation. Total 96 paper currency and 48 coins of different denominations were randomly collected from butcher shop, vegetables seller, auto rickshaw and rickshaw man, chemist store, tuberculosis chest outpatient department (OPD) and general OPD from the different areas of Lucknow city in a sterile paper bags. A total of 249/92 bacteria, 49/24 fungal isolates and 1/0 parasite were obtained from the paper currency and coins respectively. Different bacterial species were isolated with the most common isolates being Bacillus species (60.41%, 47.91%) and followed by Escherichia coli (41.66%, 35.41%), Proteus species (39.58%, 42.0%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (35.41%, 12.5%), Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (28.12%, 31.25%), Staphylococcus aureus (20.83%, 23.1%), Diphtheroids (17.70%, 0%), Enterococcus species (11.45%, 0%), Streptococcus pyogenes (11.45%, 0%), Salmonella species (2.08%, 0%), Shigella species (1.04%, 0%) and acid fast Bacilli (2.08%, 0%). Different fungus that is, Aspergillus species (27.08%, 37.5%), Candida albicans (13.54%, 12.5%), Cladosporium cladosporioides (9.37%, 0%) and Ascaris egg (1.04%, 0%) were found in paper currency and coins respectively. These results suggest that the currency is commonly contaminated with microbes, and this contamination may play a role in the transmission of antibiotic resistant or potentially harmful organism. This work seeks to confirm microbial contamination of currency and also introduces the nature and levels of contamination of the Indian currency. The distribution of contamination was unexpectedly higher in unexpected locations, indicative of our wide ignorance and indifference toward contamination through this route.