Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Algiers, Algeria.
Laboratoire Valorisation et Conservation des Ressources Biologiques, Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Sciences, Université M'hamed Bougara, Boumerdes, Algeria.
Pol J Microbiol. 2020 Dec;69(4):491-501. doi: 10.33073/pjm-2020-053. Epub 2020 Dec 27.
Currency is one of the most exchanged items in human communities as it is used daily in exchange for goods and services. It is handled by persons with different hygiene standards and can transit in different environments. Hence, money can constitute a reservoir for different types of human pathogens. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of Algerian banknotes to shelter opportunistic pathogenic and multiresistant bacteria. To that end, 200 circulating notes of four different denominations were collected from various places and analyzed for their bacterial loads and contents. Besides, predominant strains were identified and characterized by biochemical and molecular methods, and their resistance profiles against 34 antibiotics were determined. Our results indicated that 100% of the studied banknotes were contaminated with bacteria. The total bacterial concentrations were relatively high, and different bacterial groups were grown, showing important diversity. In total, 48 predominant strains were identified as belonging to 17 genera. and were the most prevalent genera, followed by , , and . Antibiotic susceptibility testing showed that all the isolates harbored resistance to at least two molecules, and worrying resistance levels were observed. These findings prove that Algerian currency harbors opportunistic multiresistant bacteria and could potentially act as a vehicle for the spread of bacterial diseases and as a reservoir for antibiotic resistance genes among the community. Therefore, no cash payment systems should be developed and generalized to minimize cash handling and subsequent potential health risks.
货币是人类社会中最常交换的物品之一，因为它每天都被用于交换商品和服务。它被不同卫生标准的人经手，并可能在不同的环境中传播。因此，货币可能成为各种人类病原体的储存库。本研究旨在评估阿尔及利亚钞票携带机会性病原体和多药耐药菌的潜力。为此，从不同地点收集了 200 张流通的四种不同面额的钞票，并分析了它们的细菌负荷和含量。此外，还通过生化和分子方法鉴定和表征了优势菌株，并确定了它们对 34 种抗生素的耐药谱。我们的结果表明，研究的钞票 100%被细菌污染。总细菌浓度相对较高，生长了不同的细菌群，表现出重要的多样性。总共鉴定出 48 株优势菌株，属于 17 个属。 和 是最常见的属，其次是 、 、 和 。抗生素敏感性测试表明，所有分离株至少对两种分子具有耐药性，并且观察到令人担忧的耐药水平。这些发现证明阿尔及利亚货币携带机会性病原体和多药耐药菌，可能作为细菌疾病传播的媒介，并作为社区中抗生素耐药基因的储存库。因此，应该开发和推广无现金支付系统，以尽量减少现金处理及其随后的潜在健康风险。
