Can currency notes carry and spread novel coronavirus?

Washing hands regularly is being pegged as the best bet in the fight against coronavirus. But how can one get rid of the possibility of contracting the virus through articles that come in our contact daily – such as currency notes?

Can currency notes cause coronavirus to spread? Some of the previously conducted studies point at the possibility of currency notes transmitting disease-causing, drug-resistant pathogens.

A 2018 study published in the International Journal of Current Engineering and Scientific Research found that all currency notes of denominations 100, 50, 20 and 10 collected from various sources in Buldana, Maharashtra were contaminated with Escherichia Coli, Salmonella Typhi and two other pathogens.

Another study, which examined 96 notes and 48 coins of various denominations, had found that almost all samples harboured bacteria, fungus and parasites. The study appeared in the Indian Journal of Medicine and Public Health in the year 2015 and was conducted by departments of microbiology and pulmonary medicine at King George’s Medical University in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.