Whose childhood wasn’t filled with the sound of their Mother saying, “Don’t put those coins in your mouth! Take them out! And stop licking that dollar!”… … … What you guys didn’t constantly lick money as a kid? Jeez, now I feel kind of awkward… WELL – anyway – regardless of whether your mom told you not to put money in your mouth once or on a near hourly basis, she was right to do so! Paper money passes between hundreds of hands, and those hands are frequently also used to cover sneezes and coughs. Money can carry serious diseases… But what diseases? And how serious? And what about H1N1? Well let’s find out!

IS H1N1 ON MY MONEY?

Because H1N1 is a virus, it isn’t able to live long outside of a host body. That means that Swine flu dies within about 20 minutes when outside of an infected person. This means that most dollar bills encountered in your daily life will be free of H1N1. But notice I said most. When H1N1 is suspended within human mucus on paper money, it can live up to TEN DAYS !

Now you may be thinking, “Okay, well, as long as my cash isn’t dripping in snot, it looks like I’m in the clear!” Not so! Four out of Five paper bills are contaminated with at least tract amounts of cocaine. Users of cocaine will roll up bills, insert them in their mucus-rich noses, and snort up the powdery drug. When these bills are put back into circulation, they are able to cross contaminate and spread mucus, bacteria, viruses, and trace amounts of cocaine to other bills. If a few contaminated bills get into a money counting machine, hundreds of bills can all become contaminated within a matter of seconds! The same thing goes for infected bills that are introduced into ATM machines, money tills, or even the one dollar bills your grandmother put in your birthday card!

WHAT ELSE IS ON MY MONEY!?

H1N1 and flu viruses aren’t the only pathogen that can survive and spread via paper currency. “Researchers at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio collected 68 dollar bills from people at a grocery store and a high-school sporting event. According to Dr. Peter Ender, lead researcher, sixty-four (94%) of the bills were contaminated with bacteria known to cause either serious or mild illness. Five bills (7%) were found to be contaminated with bacteria which can cause infections in healthy people. Those bacteria included Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae, both of which can cause pneumonia or blood infections. Fifty-nine bills were contaminated with bacteria that are usually harmless in healthy individuals, but can still trigger serious illness in those with depressed immune systems, such as people undergoing various types of medical treatment or those with HIV.”(From Hawaii Reporter, May 15, 2008)

While those were some staggering statistics and diseases on paper currency are a big problem, on average a dollar bill poses no more of an infectious threat than the average computer keyboard or office doorknob. (Fun Fact – studies have shown that a dollar bill IS dirtier than the average toilet seat!) However, as time progresses, international monetary transactions become more and more commonplace. Your office doorknob has, and will always be, connected to a door in your office. A dollar bill could travel to Hong Kong, then to India, then to Las Vegas, and then to you! The risk of slightly different mutations of common diseases that exist in other continents traveling back to the US is a very real possibility. In this world full of modern, drug resistant germs and bacteria, a treatment-resistant version of a common disease could very well be introduced to the United States from a foreign land via paper money.

IS ANYONE DOING ANYTHING TO MAKE MONEY LESS FILTHY?

Yes there is! But unfortunately, only in Japan. Since the late 1990’s, certain Japanese banks have been introducing new ATM machines designed to dispense clean, sterile money. These special, “clean ATMs,” take in contaminated, wrinkled, old yen. The old bills are then fed through metal rollers heated to 392°F. This kills 90% of all bacteria and leaves the notes flat and crisp. Hitachi invented this sanitization process by accident when trying to create a machine to iron out crumbled bills. When the designers realized that the high temperature required to iron the bills also killed bacteria, the clean ATM was born. Cash is a favored gift at Japanese weddings, and because of Japan’s extremely high regard for cleanliness, no respectable Japanese would give anything but untainted bills.

WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT MY FILTHY MONEY?

If you have any contaminated money you would like to get rid of, please e-mail me, and I can arrange the pickup and disposal of any contaminated bills, from $1 to $100. Hahahaha. Seeing as no one wants to do that, there are other ways you can feel safe about handling money. Day to day money handling won’t lead to a high risk of infection, but for people who handle lots of paper bills a day, like people who work at cash registers, catching something from money can be a real possibility. Keep hand sanitizer with you, and use it often. Until the US gets clean ATMs, washing your hands frequently is the best way to prevent getting sick from your money.

Hopefully this article helped you realize how any why money becomes contaminated. Remember, if you have an outbreak of disease in your home, school, or office, Bio-Clean of New Jersey offers complete decontamination services. For more information on Bio-Clean Disease Decontamination, give us a call or check out our website!

Until the next post, stay healthy- and get that five’r out of your mouth!

Labels: disease, H1N1, H1N1 decontamination, infection control, money

With Avian and Swine Flu dominating cable news broadcasts for the last few winters, people are a little more familiar with how the flu works. It’s now fairly well known that the flu comes from various viral varieties, not just one type of virus. Specifically, [NERD ALERT] Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is a general term referring to a contagious respiratory disease that is caused by several different viruses in the Orthomyxoviridae family.

Although the majority of the nation knows a little more about the flu than their grandmother did, there’s still a lot of room for confusion. Cable news flu coverage is simultaneously chock full of specific terminology and vague medical terms. It can get confusing quick! Here’s a little fact sheet to help clear the haze:

EPIDEMIC – The rapid spread of a disease that affects some or many people in a community or region at the same time. (Spreads quickly, effects locally)

PANDEMIC – An outbreak of a disease that affects large numbers of people throughout the world and spreads rapidly. (Spreads quickly, effects globally)

INFLUENZA A – Flue viruses are broken down into three divisions; Influenza A, Influenza B, and Influenza C. Influenza A strains appear in several types of animals, including human. Yes, along with Bird and Swine Flu, there is a Human Flu. Human Flu in humans is the typical seasonal flu that comes around every year. It’s bad, but manageable. The problem with Influenza A viruses arise when animal strains mutate and/or transfer over into the human population.
H5N1 – “Avian Flu/ Bird Flu” H5N1 is a strain of Influenza A that usually effects only birds. The virus can cause epidemics in bird populations, decimating entire poultry farms. 1997, a Hong Kong boy was the first human to be effected by H5N1. An outbreak that began in 2003 has infected over 250 people in 10 countries. More than half of them have died, demonstrating just how deadly H5N1 is to humans.

As of now, H5N1 can only be spread from infected birds to humans, not from humans to other humans. However, H5N1 mutates and changes very rapidly, so it has a high potentiality of mutating into a virus that can be spread from human to human.



H1N1 – “Swine Flu” H1N1 is like H5N1 in that they are both Influenza A strains that originated in non-human animals, but is unlike H5N1 in that it is now easily communicable between humans.H5N1 was first detected in its human-human state in April 2009. On June 11th 2009, the World Health Organization signaled that a pandemic of H1N1 was underway. There is now an H1N1 flu shot, but supplies are still limited. In order to help control this pandemic, those who suspect they may have H1N1 should stay home, and contact a doctor.



INFLUENZA B – Unlink Influenza A which effects a variety of different animals, Influenza B affects only humans and seals (weird, right?). Because Influenza B has been around plaguing humans for ages, we know how to combat it.


SEASONAL FLU - The good old fashioned flu you grew up with. “A contagious respiratory illness cause by Influenza (flu) viruses occurring every year. It affects an average of 5 to 20 percent of the US population by causing mild to severe illness, and in some instances can lead to death. Adults may be able to infect others 1 day before getting symptoms and as long as 5 days after getting sick.” Different strains of Human Influenza A and Influenza B are what give us the seasonal flu we know and love… or hate. The seasonal flu shot contains weakened strains of both Influenza A and Human Influenza B.


Well, I hope that my explanations of these flu terms will help you get a better understanding of the flu—A key part of staying healthy.

Labels: American Red Cross, disease, flu, H1N1, h5n1, seasonal flu