Study of Contaminated Currency Notes in Circulation

Currency is very important to our life as it facilitates the needs of common man. Paper currency is widely exchanged for goods and services in countries worldwide. It is used for all type of commerce. Paper currency provides a large surface area as a breeding ground for pathogens. Coins and currency notes could carry potentially pathogenic organisms. In India, most types of trades depend on currency, with lower-denomination notes receiving the most handling because they are exchanged many times. Mokhada is a rural area where peoples mostly depend upon cash trading. Currency notes and coins are handled by persons of varying health and hygienic standards and are also stored under varying environmental and personal hygienic conditions. Some of the associated fungal species are potential pathogens of human beings and plants. Moreover, money on which pathogenic microorganisms might survive represents an often overlooked reservoir of diseases. Therefore, adequate care must be taken while handling these currency notes and coins for the safety of human health. There should be public awareness of the fact that currency notes could be a source of infection and can be dangerous to health. Public enlightenment campaigns on proper money handling practices should be organized. Although there is no direct evidence for the presence of pathogenic microorganisms over currency which results in infection, yet their understanding could provide strategies to reduce the contamination of currency. This study will help people to avoid infections via currency notes.