MUCH RISK OF INFECTION FROM BANK NOTES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 53, 19 October 1949, Page 5

MUCH RISK OF INFECTION FROM BANK NOTES

In order to minimise the risk of infection attaching to bank notes, the Department of Health suggests that tellers and others who are constantly handling paper money should use a sponge impregnated with a non-irritant disinfectant for moistening their fingers. The general view is that little infection risk is attached to the circulation of metal money because of the bactericidal action of metals, but a test taken in Scotland recently showed that in a selection of 36 bank notes just under 20 per cent were infected by potentially pathogenic organisms. Laboratory Tests

The notes, gathered from various sources, were laboratory tested, and the findings suggest that a not inconsiderable risk may be run by those handling, a large number of notes.

The risk of. infection is increased by the practice of licking the finger tips before turning over notes. The use of a sponge is an improvement, but it is conceivable that the sponge may soon become a heavily-infect-ed article. The practice of adding a quantity of disinfectant is in operation in some banks, and must be considered an improvement, providing the disinfectant used is not of such a nature as to be a skin irritant.

The question of the importance of bank notes in this connection is only part of a larger problem involving paper generally—pages of library books, newspapers, tickets and letters.