Finding germs of various kinds on banknotes is nothing new, and experts even say that a range of infectious diseases can spread through banknotes.

In 2015 scientists at the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in Delhi reported that DNA tests on notes in circulation in India had found at least 78 kinds of dangerous microbes, which can spread serious diseases.

Last August a group of researchers in Bangladesh also said they had found bacteria of a kind usually present in faeces on Bangladeshi paper notes and coins.

Nishat Tasnim, an environmental science student at Khulna University, researched notes and coins in circulation for about six months and said she had found E coli-type bacteria on them.

The researchers found bacteria at levels far above 1,000 on paper notes and coins collected from 15 sources. Bacteria up to a level of 1,000 are considered tolerable.

Professor Dr Abdullah Harun Chowdhury, a teacher of environmental science at Khulna University, supervised the study.

He had earlier told the BBC: "What we found in this test is alarming from a public health point of view. Besides common bacteria, we found bacteria from human faeces and urine, which are harmful to the human body."

So he does not rule out the possibility of coronavirus spreading through money.

Dr Chowdhury said that since their research found various bacteria on money that cause intestinal diseases in people, it would not be unusual for the virus to spread through it too.

In his view, through the use of taka or dollars and international exchange, coronavirus could spread not only within one country but to other countries, and it could take a serious form.

Source: BBC Bangla. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.