Isolation and Identification of Bacterial Contaminants on Naira Notes Used in Parts of Ohaji/Egbema LGA, Imo State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was designed to isolate and identify the various micro-organisms that contaminate naira notes used in parts of Ohaji/Egbema LGA. A total of one hundred (100) pieces of N10, N20, N50, N100, N200, N500 and N1,000 denominations were collected from different points which include traders, beggars, bus conductors, students, food vendors and banks. These notes were separated into four on the basis of their physical state: mint, clear, dirty and mutilated. Each of the notes was immersed in 10ml of sterile distilled water and allowed to stand for 30 minutes. The solution was later inoculated into nutrient agar, MacConkey agar, and mannitol salt agar. The colonies were also identified using standard biochemical tests. From the result of the study, the highest and lowest bacterial counts were found in N20 and N100 notes, whereas the mean average bacterial count on those notes were between 1.6 × 10³CFu/ml to 2.6 ×  10³ CFu/ml. the bacterial isolates identified include staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, pseudomonas aeruginosa and streptococcus spp. The result of the study revealed that naira notes in circulation in parts of Ohaji/Egbema LGA could be a potential source of transmitting pathogenic micro-organisms.