Prevalence and Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of Bacteria Isolated from Nigerian Currency Note in Enugu State, Nigeria

Background: Nigerian currency notes act as fomites and thus can transmit pathogenic microorganisms from one person to another.

Aim: This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of bacteria isolated from Nigerian currency notes circulating in Enugu East local government area of Enugu State.

Methods: Isolation, characterization and antibiotic sensitivity tests were done using standard methods.

Results: A total of 632 bacterial strains comprising 13 different bacterial species were isolated and identified from the Nigerian currency notes. The respective isolation rates of the isolates were Staphylococcus aureus(35.3%), E.coli (15.0%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2.5%), Bacillus sp (13.6%), Salmonella sp (2.8%), Klebsiella sp (10.1%), Streptococcus sp (7.3%), Acinetobacter sp (1.6%), Serratia marcescens (1.7%), Proteus mirabilis (3.8%), Enterococcus faecalis (2.8%), Citrobacter sp (3.0%) and Actinomycete sp (0.3%). The Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria showed resistance to cloxacilline (87%) and amoxicillin (84%). Further, 93.4% of all the bacterial isolates had a multi-antibiotic resistance index (MARI) >2 and the rest of the isolates (6.5%) had a MARI < 2.

Conclusion: Nigerian currency notes harbour bacteria. Many of these bacteria are multidrug resistant organisms.