Researchers have found currency notes in developed countries to have fewer bacteria than money in poorer countries.

Led by University of Ballarat’s food microbiologist Frank Vriesekoop, a global research team analysed banknotes from at least 10 nations, including Australia, China, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Britain and the US.

“The richer and more developed countries had fewer bacteria on their money than poorer countries,” Vriesekoop said, according to the journal Foodborne Pathogens and Disease.

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