Dirty coins are breeding ground for superbugs
THERE is a good reason why we call money “filthy lucre”, because the coins jangling in your pocket or purse are literally filthy.
Researchers put our money under the microscope and found it crawling with 19 different bacteria, including two lifethreatening superbugs.
The comparison website Money.co.uk and London Metropolitan University found notes and coins with staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, and enterococcus faecium (VRE), which the World Health Organisation warns pose some of the biggest threats to human health. Researchers also found life-threatening airborne listeria on them.
Dr Paul Matewele at London Metropolitan University admitted he was shocked to find so many microorganisms thriving on them and said people with compromised immune systems are most at risk.
“If visiting vulnerable people in hospital, you could unknowingly transfer bacteria from your money which is resistant to antibiotics,” he said.
Although paying with coins is declining, Britons still made £13.1billion cash payments last year. Money.co.uk editor-in-chief Hannah Maundrell said even the new polymer notes were breeding grounds for some life-threatening bugs.
“This could reinforce the argument for moving towards a cashless society and might be the final nail in the coffin for our filthy coppers,” she said.
“We recommend washing your hands thoroughly after handling money to help prevent spreading these harmful bacteria.”