ABSTRACT
Comparative evaluation of microorganisms on naira notes used by meat and vegetable sellers was microbiologically analysis. Seven bacterial species and two fungal were isolated and identified by their cultural morphology, Gram’s reaction, biochemical reaction and sugar utilization test. Fungal isolated were identified by using lacto phenol – in- cotton blue staining technique. The bacterial isolates include; Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus sp, Escherichia coli, Proteus sp, Streptococcus sp, Klebsiella sp, Pseudomonas sp, Aspergillus sp and Yeast. The comparative of microbial count on both meat and vegetable sellers in Umuahia markets, where meat sellers has the highest microbial count with range of 4.6x103 (cfu/ml) to 6.0x103 (cfu/ml) in mammy and Orie-ugba market. While vegetable sellers range from 4.5x103 (cfu/ml) to 5.2x103 (cfu/ml) on (THPC), also confirmed in (TCPC) that meat sellers in mammy and Amawom markets has the highest coliform count with range of 2.3x103 (cfu/ml) to 4.5x103 (cfu/ml) compared with vegetable sellers with 2.4x102 (cfu/ml) to 3.4x103 (cfu/ml) and (TFPC) for meat sellers in Ubani and Amawom markets range from 1.6x103 (cfu/ml) to 3.1x103 (cfu/ml) and on the vegetable sellers range from 1.5x103 (cfu/ml) Orie-ugba to 2.3x103 (cfu/ml) Ubani market respectively. The occurrence of microorganisms isolated from the notes were (22.86%) Staphylococcus aureus, (22.26%) Bacillus sp (11.43%) Escherichia coil (8.57%), Proteus sp (11.43%) Streptococcus sp (8.57%) Klebsiella sp Pseudomonas sp (14.29%) Aspergillus sp (15.33%) and Yeast (12.5% respectively). And antibiotic sensitivity results shows that all the bacteria isolates were sensitive to Ciprofloxacin, Septrin, Rifampincin, Ampiclox and Tarivid while Chloraphenicol, Nalidixic Acid and Reflaine found resistance to the bacterial isolates. This have shows that naira notes in circulation are highly contaminated with different types of bacteria and antibiotic resistant level could be a problem in the treatment of diseases caused by these isolates.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgements iv
Table of Contents v
List of Tables vii
Abstract viii
CHAPTER ONE
3
Introduction 1
3.5
Background of the Study 1
1.2 Currency
notes 2
1.2.1 History of currency notes 3
1.2.2 Development of currency notes in Nigeria 4
1.2.3 How
currencies are contaminated by meat and vegetable sellers 5
1.3
Aim and Objectives of the Study 6
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 Literature
Review 8
2.1 Composition, use and contamination of the
Nigeria naira 8
2.1.1 How
microorganisms contaminate currencies 9
2.1.2 Microorganisms
isolated from naira notes used by meat and vegetable
sellers. 11
2.2 Microbial
load on foreign currencies 12
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 Materials
and Methods 15
3.1 Source
of materials 15
3.2 Sampling
15
3.3 Media
preparation 15
3.4 Determination
of bacterial load 16
3.5 Determination
of fungal counts 16
3.6 Determination of occurrences 17
3.6.1 Characterization of isolates 18
3.6.2 Gram
staining techniques 18
3.6.3 Biochemical
Reaction of bacterial 19
3.6.3.1 Motility
test 19
3.6.3.2 Catalase test 19
3.6.3.3 Coagulase test 19
3.6.3.4 Methyl red test 19
3.6.3.5 Voges-proskaeur test 20
3.6.3.6 Indole test 20
3.6.3.7 Citrate test 20
3.6.3.8 Oxidase test 21
3.6.4 Sugar
Utilization test of bacterial 21
3.6.5 Identification of fungi 21
3.7 Antimicrobial
susceptibility test 22
3.8 Statistical analysis 22
CHAPTER
FOUR
4.0 Results 23
CHAPTER
FIVE
5.0 Discussion,
Conclusion and Recommendations 33
5.1 Discussion 33
5.2 Conclusions 35
5.3 Recommendations 36
REFERENCES
APPENDIXES
LIST OF TABLES
Table Title Page
1: Mean microbial
counts on naira notes of both meat and
vegetable sellers (cfu/ml) 25
2: Biochemical tests for identification of
bacterial isolates of naira
notes from meat and vegetable sellers 26
3:
Identification of fungal isolated
from meat and vegetable
sellers in Umuahia markets 27
4: Occurrence of bacteria isolates on naira
notes of meat sellers in
Umuahia markets 28
5:
Occurrence of bacteria isolates on
naira notes of vegetable
sellers in Umuahia markets 29
6:
Occurrence of fungal isolates on
naira notes of meat sellers in
Umuahia markets 30
7: Occurrence of fungal isolates on
naira notes of vegetable sellers in
Umuahia markets. 31
8: Antimicrobial susceptibility of
bacterial isolated from naira
notes from both meat and vegetable sellers in Umuahia
markets 32
CHAPTER
ONE
1.0
Introduction
1.1
Background
of the Study
In
ancient times, people didn’t need money. They got everything they needed
through bartering. In bartering, you trade something you don’t need for
something you do need. Thousands of years ago, the first money was commodity
money. Commodities are things that everyone values enough to trade for and
accept as payment (Millar et al.,
2005). Commodity money varied from place to place, depending on what the local
people valued. For example, shells, salt and iron nail. But many forms of
commodity money where difficult to carry and could lose their value (Igunbor et al., 2007).
In
due course, there were replaced by coins (pieces of metal) made of gold,
silver, bronze and copper and much later paper money was developed the first
time in China. Money is the most widely used and sought after service on the planet. Research
has shown that paper currency serves as an ideal breeding ground for
microorganisms for several reasons. Firstly, the paper bills offer a large
surface area for organism and organic debris to collect (Awodi et al., 2000). Secondly, folds and/or deliberate depressions
or projections specifically engineered into the bills’ design as an
anti-counterfeiting methods serve as settling sites for both organism and
debris, which allow the microorganisms to live longer (Chambers, 2009).
Lastly,
banknotes weave their way through the population for many years before they
come to rest. Studies indicate that the age and denomination of a bill have a
direct correlation with the contamination observed (e.g. older bills and
the most contamination while newer bills has the least) (Okon and Oluadipo,
2003).
1.2 Currency notes
According
to Ogunlaya (2005), money in the form of coins and notes, pass through many
hands, in most day to day, cash transactions.
In Nigeria, the currency in use is the naira. The Central Bank of
Nigeria produces and release the naira notes for public use through the
commercial banks. Eight denominations of the Naira are in existence in note
form of N5, N10, N20, N50,
N100, N200,
N500, N1000.
Generally,
the lower currency notes of N200 and below are the most commonly used in daily
cash transactions in the markets and elsewhere while the higher denominations N500 and N1000
are used by the wealthy and in corporate transactions (Okon et al., 2003). Milestone (2000) observed
that when individuals handle currency notes, a portion of their body (bacteria)
flora is shed on the notes and in turn, the microorganisms spread among the
handlers of the notes. There are many sources through which microorganisms enter the naira (and
other currency) notes. This include dust, water, microflora of handlers (skin,
hand) as well through saliva which some
people use when counting monies. Again some market and community women
put money notes in their brassier while some handlers and traders put money
notes in their socks and pockets and some villagers put money under the carpet
or rugs. In normal usage, some people
squeeze the notes making it damp and predisposed for bacteria invasion.
The
naira is generally subjected to abuse during handling and this exposes it to
microbial invasion. The negative handling of the naira includes spraying during
ceremonies in which the notes are trampled upon by dancers and the crowd. In
this regards, microbes from the atmosphere, human body, soil etc enter the
notes (Ogba, 2007; Awordi et al.,
2010). Brady and Kelley (2000) described the damaged soiled, cellotaped Naira
notes and those with pen writings on them as mutilated naira notes. Generally,
the type of microorganism that contaminate the naira notes depends to a large
extent on the environment and the handlers’ level of hygiene. Against this
background, this project is designed to evaluate the bacteria contamination of
naira notes obtained from fresh meat seller and vegetable seller in and around
Umuahia.
1.2.1 History of currency notes
The Chinese were recorded as the first to introduce and use
paper currency notes which were innovated around the early years of modern
China. The paper were made of linear,
hemp, bamboo and malbery bark. The had already developed the practice of
writing credit notes on paper and dear skins, as guarantees for long distance
trade (the author). According to retrieved ancient documents, the first papers
bills in China appear during the China’s Tang dynasty around the 7th
century AD in the value of the yellow river (Prescott, 2008). This practice
developed into paper currency which was found to be lighter weight substitute
for thousands of coins needed to be transported between regions for the growing
trade. Merchants were made to exchange their coins for at government treasury
for paper notes which came to be called
“fei-gian” ie feing money. But the institutionalization of paper money
in China was during the song dynasty which began around 960 AD.
In Europe, unlike in Asian China, paper
currency did not gain widespread usage until much carton paper money was rich
enough into Europe by traveler like Macro Polo and William of Rubrak (Haque,
2003). However, Europe did not have necessary materials for paper currency. The
first paper null in Europe was
established by the moors in the gear that is now Spain in around 1150 AD. But
reports has it that when it become increasingly risky to carry large sums of
metallic coins, merchants adopted the use of hand written promising notes
(Ichor, 2007). By the late 1550s,
banking institutions had average that gave receipts in exchange for currency
deposits. In 1661, the Government of Sweden
is the European Government sponsored bank note as a legal tender. By
1664, the bank of England became the first Government bank to make permanent
issue of paper currency as part of King
Williams effort to finance war against
France. But the currency notes were issued in large quantities of 50 pounds
which was much higher than most individual’s annual earnings so most people
continued to do business with coins (Kjhge, 2009). In the United States, the
congress started using paper notes known as “the continental” and the units was
dollars, during the war of
independence from Europe in 1775. The issuing authority was the
continental congress. The current dollar currency used in the United States
originated from the ones issued after independency in 786 (10 years after) but
the US mint that produced the dollar
bill was heated in 1792 but it was in
1861 that the United State Government began regular printing of dollar bills for
general circulation and redemption upon demand (Kelly, 2009).
1.2.2 Development of currency notes in Nigeria
According to information from the Central
Bank of Nigeria, the West African currency Board was responsible for using
currency notes from 1912 to 1959. Before then, Nigeria used various forms of
money including cowries and manilas in 1st July, 1959, the first
indigenous currency notes were issued by the Central Bank and those the West
African Currency were withdrawn
(Orukotan and Yabaya, 2011). However, it was not until Nigeria became a
republic that the legal tender status became effective in 1st July
1962. The Nigerian currency were disputed in pounds but were change in
farms in 1968 as part of war strategy
following what the Government termed as misuse of the country’s currency notes
(Asikong et al., 2007). The Nigerian pound was formerly changed to
the Naira in 1973 in which 1 Naira was equivalent to one half pound or 10
shellings in February, 1977, the N20
note was issued as the highest denomination and also as the first currency of
bear the portrait of a Nigeria citizen the late
Murtala Mohammed a torch bearer of the 1975 Nigerian resolution. A few
years later, in 1979 new denominations of N1,
N5 and N10 were introduced but N1
and 50k were coined. While the other bore portraits of some Nigerian past
heroes as well as cultural depicts on their over leafs. More currency notes
were introduced as a response to expanding economy and to facilitate efficient
payment systems. They included N100
note introduced in December 1999, N200
note introduced in November 2000, N500
note introduced in April, 2001 and N1000
note introduced in October, 2005. In
February 28th 2007, bank notes with new designs were introduced as
part of economic reformes and these included N50, N20, N10 and N5
notes as well as N1 and 50k coins while
a new N2 coin was introduced. These are
the monies that are in current circulation in the country as at date.
1.2.3 How currencies are contaminated by meat and
vegetable sellers
The
currencies are contaminated by meat sellers and vegetable sellers through
counting notes with saliva. Coughing and sneezing on hands followed by
exchanging currencies, placement or storage on dirty surfaces, such currencies
further act as a vehicle for bacteria to the next user (Barolia et al., 2011; Ngwai et al., 2011). Contaminated currency could resulted in food borne infection (Girma
et al., 2014; Ngwai et al., 2011). Microbial contamination
rate of currency handled by meat seller contamination rate of currency handled
by meat seller (butchero) (78.0%) and vegetable sellers (62.1%) was reported
from Nepal (Lamichane et al., 2009).
Many people do not care to the level of cleanliness of their finger when
handling money and pick paper currencies with contaminated hands, Leading to
contamination of paper currency. Furthermore, meat seller in slaughter houses
and at market places usually collect money from buyers with hands contaminated
with blood and animal wastes. Such money handling habits can introduce microbes
to the notes (Kovacs et al., 2003).
In most part of the world, it is believe that the simultaneous handling of food
and money (currency) contributes to the incidence of food-related public health incidents. Data accumulated during the
last 20 years indicate that pathogens on currency notes could represent a
potential cause of food borne illness. Evidently, many food outlets rely
heavily on paper currencies for exchange with high frequency of contact between
the currencies and foods risking the safety of customers (Mulera et al., 2001).
1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study
The
objectives of this project work is to compare the bacteria contamination of
naira notes used by meat and vegetable sellers. The objectives in the following
specifically;
i.
To determine the bacteria
and fungal load of naira notes from meat and vegetable sellers.
ii.
To isolate, characterize
and identify bacteria and fungal load from the test naira notes.
iii.
To compare the bacteria
and fungal load and the flora of the naira notes from meat sellers with those
from vegetable sellers.
iv.
To assess safety of the
naira notes to the user public.
v.
To compare microbial
counts from polymer and non-polymer naira notes
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