Bacteriological Investigation of Domestic and Foreign Coins in the Istanbul/Fatih Region

Öz

Introduction: It is known that paper currency and coins change hands between people very frequently and are important for public health and the transmission of serious infections. There are great differences between countries and regions in many issues such as money counting habits and compliance with toilet and hand hygiene. Within the scope of this idea, we aimed to collect domestic and foreign coins from different professional groups and examine them bacteriologically in the Fatih region of Istanbul, which is a busy trade area where foreign tourists and foreign immigration are high. Materials and Methods: In this study, 50 domestic coins were collected from fishermen, vegetable sellers, textile sellers and market workers, and 50 foreign coins were collected from the foreign exchange office by random sampling method. After each coin was taken, it was thrown into falcones containing Brain Heart Infusion Broth. All collected coins were kept in the same falcons in the laboratory for 24 hours at room temperature without any processing, and then they were planted in media for bacterial production. Results: The bacterial contamination rate was found to be 86% in domestic coins and 74% in foreign coins. Acinetobacter spp. in 26 (52%) of the local coins, Bacillus spp. in 15 (30%), Klebsiella spp. in 12 (24%), KNS in 5 (10%), 10) Enterobacter spp., 2 (4%) Pseudomonas spp., 2 (4%) E. coli and 1 (2%) Candida spp. procreated. Of the foreign coins, 22 (44%) had Acinetobacter spp., 9 (18%) had Bacillus spp., 4 (8%) had KNS, 4 (8%) had Klebsiella spp., 2 had ( 4%) Enterobacter spp. and 1 (2%) with Nocardia spp. procreated. Conclusion: We think that the high rate of bacterial contamination observed in local coins collected from different tradesmen groups, especially those collected from fishermen (100%) and vegetable sellers (19%), is due to the lack of a hygienic environment in these groups and hand hygiene is interrupted.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• coin
• turkey
• bacteria
• hand hygiene

İstanbul/Fatih Bölgesinde Yerli Ve Yabancı Madeni Paraların Bakteriyolojik Yönden Araştırılması

Öz

Amaç: Kağıt ve madeni paralar insanlar arasında çok sık el değiştirdiği için ciddi enfeksiyonların bulaştırıcılığı ve halk sağlığı açısından önemli olduğu bilinmektedir. Para sayma alışkanlıkları, tuvalet ve el hijyenine uyum gibi birçok konuda ülkeler ve bölgeler arasında büyük farklılıklar görülmektedir. Bu düşünce kapsamında yabancı turistlerin ve yabancı göçünün fazla olduğu, yoğun ticaret bölgesi olan İstanbul’a bağlı Fatih ilçesinde çevrimde olan yerli ve yabancı madeni paraların farklı meslek gruplarından toplanarak bakteriyolojik açıdan incelenmesini amaçladık. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Bu çalışmada 50 adet yerli madeni para; balıkçı, sebzeci, tekstilci ve market çalışanından, 50 adet yabancı madeni para ise döviz bürosundan rastgele örneklem metodu ile toplandı. Paraların her biri alındıktan sonra, içerisinde Brain Heart Infusion Broth bulunan falkonlar içerisine atıldı. Toplanan tüm paralar laboratuvarda aynı falkonlar içerisinde hiçbir işlem yapılmadan oda ısısında 24 saat bekletildi ve sonrasında bakteri üretimi için besiyerlerine ekim yapıldı. Bulgular: Bakteriyel kontaminasyon oranı yerli madeni paralarda %86, yabancı madeni paralarda %74 olarak saptandı. Yerli madeni paraların 26’sında (%52) Acinetobacter spp., 15’inde (%30) Bacillus spp., 12’sinde (%24) Klebsiella spp., 5’inde (%10) KNS, 5’inde (%10) Enterobacter spp., 2’sinde (%4) Pseudomonas spp., 2’sinde (%4) E. coli ve 1’inde (%2) Candida spp. üredi. Yabancı madeni paraların ise 22’sinde (%44) Acinetobacter spp., 9’unda (%18) Bacillus spp., 4’ünde (%8) KNS, 4’ünde (%8) Klebsiella spp., 2’sinde (%4) Enterobacter spp. ve 1’inde (%2) Nocardia spp. üredi. Sonuç: Farklı esnaf gruplarından toplanan yerli madeni paraların özellikle balıkçı (%100) ve sebzeciden (%19) toplananlarında yüksek oranda gözlenen bakteri kontaminasyonunun, bu gruplarda hijyenik ortamın sağlanamamasından kaynaklandığını ve el hijyeninin kesintiye uğradığını düşünüyoruz.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• madeni para
• türkiye
• bakteri
• el hijyeni

Kaynakça

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