Bank of England’s plastic bank notes will be a “breeding ground” for superbugs, say researchers

Daily Mail (UK) ^ | 09:01 EST, 14 September 2013 | Mia De Graaf

[Olog-hai]

Wipe-clean plastic bank notes earmarked to replace paper cash are a “breeding ground” for superbugs, scientists claim. More durable than the cotton currently used for £5-£50 notes, polymer provides a welcome home for diseases such as E.coli and the MRSA superbug.

The findings completely contradict Bank of England claims that hygiene lies at the core of their proposal.

In a bombshell study on currency and bacteria, Turkish and Dutch scientists lathered seven currencies with bacteria including the euro, US dollar, Croatian kuna, and Romania’s polymer leu. While the euro proved the cleanest, with no sign of passing bacteria, polymer leu notes held traces of MRSA for up to 24 hours, 21 hours longer than any other currency. …

[Chode]

wonder how well coke sticks to it??? i've read almost all US currency has trace amounts on it...

[Cicero]

I’m not surprised. An earlier study proved that plastic table tops, cutting boards, and counters, which governments once were busy mandating, are far more conducive to germs than plain wooden ones.

[Gaffer]

Then I say give them to the Muslims there.

[grumpygresh]

I think that the real infection concern is government embedded tracking technology.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

It shouldn’t be too hard to integrate an antiseptic ingredient into the polymers. Ordinary wood contains a lot of such ingredients, which is why it is less inclined to stay contaminated, compared to smooth surfaces like plastic and Formica.