May 21, 2017
Money laundering is typically meant to describe the process of scrubbing funds of their origin. That term could also be applied to the literal cleaning of Benjamins. According to a recent study, bacteria of many forms cling to dollar bills. One expert, Emily Martin, IHPI member and assistant professor of epidemiology at UM's School of Public Health, explains which bugs may be money-hungry and when it’s worth worrying about critters in the ATM.
American paper money is made from a blend of linen and cotton, which makes notes porous, with “lots of nooks and crannies for things to get stuck in,” says Dr. Martin. As dollars move from person to person, each owner’s bacterial signature can be transferred onto the bill and feast on residual oils from sticky fingers.
A recent study found more than 3,000 types of bacteria on bills in circulation, though the epidemiologist says most of what was found is part of our world’s bacterial ecosystem. “We carry so much bacteria, we are used to fighting them,” Dr. Martin says. Problems arise, she says, “when bacteria get into places they shouldn’t.”
Dr. Martin runs a lab and is surrounded by germs all day. She doesn’t give a second thought to who is riding the coattails of Abe, Andrew or Benjamin. “I’d worry more about what flu virus is being sneezed in your direction,” she says. Still, she cautions, money doesn’t belong everywhere. “Please don’t lick the bill or put it up your nose,” which is a breeding ground of microbes, she says.