Banking cashiers and other employees faced with a lot of paper money may be infected with influenza through banknotes. That is the conclusion reached scientists from the Swiss National Influenza Research Center (Geneva).
It turned out that influenza virus can persist on the surface of the banknote of 24 hours to 17 days. "Influenza through money is realistic, although the probability of this is very small. Regular people do not worry, but bank officials and other people working with large amounts of cash, a serious risk of becoming infected. To avoid this, it is better to wear gloves while working or even mask ", - said Yves Thomas, one of the authors of the study.
Scientists have long known that viruses and microbes can be stored on paper money, but it was believed that influenza is transmitted only through airborne droplets.
Now it is proved that some influenza viruses can be spread through objects, for example, through the door handle or banknotes.
In the laboratory, the virus H1N1 (influenza type A) to survive on the surface of banknotes just a few hours. The virus H3N2 variety has remained active up to 3 days. In the nasal mucus from patients with influenza-children, on the surface of the virus can survive banknotes two and a half weeks. The researchers did not attempt to infect human virus samples with banknotes.
It is understandable that people keep in the hands of banknotes, can become infected if prikosnetsya to the nose or mouth.
For its study, scientists used only common and widely known influenza viruses. They have not tried to put experiments with the virus H5N1, causing avian influenza.
"With the H5N1 hard work, to the same difficult to obtain samples", - scientists say.