肮脏的现金
伦敦城市大学和Money.co.uk的一项研究发现，纸币和硬币样本上共有19种不同类型的细菌。
Dr Paul Matewele, Professor of Microbiology at London Met, and his students took 36 samples from a random selection of all denominations of coins and notes. The microbiologists studied the bacteria in a controlled lab environment over a period of 8 weeks.
伦敦城市大学的微生物学教授Paul Matewele博士和他的学生从随机选择的所有面额的硬币和纸币中抽取了36个样本。微生物学家在受控的实验室环境中花了8周时间来培育样本上的细菌。
The MRSA superbug was found on 2p, 5p, 10p, £1 and £2 coins as well as on £10, £20 and £50 notes.
MRSA超级细菌MRSA出现在2便士、5便士、10便士、1英镑和2英镑的硬币以及10英镑、20英镑和50英镑的纸币上。
Listeria, a bacteria usually found in unpasteurised milk and soft cheese, was also found on 20p, 50p and £1 coins and £5, £10 and £20 notes.
李斯特菌是一种通常可以在未经巴氏灭菌的牛奶和软奶酪中发现的细菌，也出现在20便士，50便士和1英镑的硬币和5英镑、10英镑和20英镑的钞票上。
Dr Paul Matewele, Professor of Microbiology at London Metropolitan University said: ‘One of the most shocking discoveries was finding so many microorganisms thriving on metal, an element you wouldn’t normally expect to see germs surviving on. The bugs have adapted to their environment, resulting in coins becoming a breeding ground for harmful bacteria.
Matewele博士说：“最令人震惊的发现之一就是许多微生物在金属上也可以茁壮成长，在金属制品上你通常不会看到细菌长时间存活的现象，而这些细菌已经适应了金属环境，导致硬币成为有害细菌的滋生地。”
‘People who have compromised immune systems could be most at risk from handling dirty money – if you’re visiting people in hospital who might be vulnerable to infection, you could unknowingly transfer bacteria off your cash which is resistant to antibiotics.’
现金对免疫系统受损的人来说，风险最高——如果你去医院探望病人，你可能会在不知不觉中将你随身钞票上的细菌传播给病人，而这些细菌对抗生素早已有了抵抗力。
Hannah Maundrell, Editor-in-Chief of money.co.uk said: ‘We were really shocked when the results revealed two of the world’s most dangerous bacteria were on the money we tested.
money.co.uk的主编Hannah Maundrell说：“当测试结果显示出，作为样本的钞票上存在着世界上最危险的两种细菌时，我们感到非常震惊。”
‘We thought the new polymer notes would be cleaner but were stunned to find out even they were growing some life threatening bugs.
“我们原以为崭新的钞票能干净点，但是被结果惊呆了，我们甚至发现新钞上也存在着一些足以危及生命的病菌。”
‘These findings could reinforce the argument for moving towards a cashless society and might be the nail in the coffin for our filthy coppers. I suspect people may think twice before choosing to pay with cash knowing they could be handed back change laced with superbugs.
“这些发现可能会成为推动实现无现金社会的强有力的理由，也可能成为我们肮脏的现金系统的棺材板上的钉子。我希望人们在选择用现金支付之前能三思而后行，因为我们清楚他们可能正冒着感染超级细菌的风险。
‘We’d recommend and remind people to wash their hands thoroughly after handling money to help prevent spreading these harmful bacteria.’
我们建议并提醒人们在处理钱后彻底洗手，以防止传播这些有害细菌。”
