Authors : O.G. Oyero and B.O. Emikpe
Abstract: Naira, the legal tender of Nigeria has been ignored as a probable fomite despite the fact that it has been found to be a highly mobile inanimate article within the human community. Survey of the currency notes (Naira) in Nigeria for microbial contaminations revealed the capacity of the Naira to be a fomite. This study was on all the notes denominations obtained from different chosen occupational groups in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. The currencies were processed for microbial isolation using the Mac Conkey Agar, Blood agar and potato dextrose agar. The streaking technique was employed for the isolation and purification of the colonies. Ninety one bacterial isolates were recovered. Identification and characterization revealed active participation of the following species of organisms in the ascending order of percentage as Pseudomonas sp. 0.98%, Bacillus sp. 0.98%, Citrobacter sp. 7.8%, Serratia sp. 11.76%, Klebsiella sp. 13.72%, Proteus sp. 13.72%, Staphylococcus sp. 15.6% and Enterobacter sp. 24.5%. The fungal isolates were of the Aspergillus sp. (10.8%). The isolation of Aspergillus sp. may be the first report of fungal contamination of currency. These results suggest that paper currency is commonly contaminated with microbes and this contamination may play a role in the transmission of antibiotic resistant or potentially harmful organisms.
O.G. Oyero and B.O. Emikpe , 2007. Preliminary Investigation on the Microbial Contamination of Nigerian Currency . International Journal of Tropical Medicine, 2: 29-32.