How Currency Plays a Role in Spread of Contagious Diseases - Need for Clean Currency

Infectious diseases remain as the major causes of human and animal illness and mortality leading to significant healthcare expenditure in India. The country has experienced the outbreaks and epidemics of many infectious diseases. In recent times good successes have been achieved against the control of major epidemic diseases, but the challenges remain. Dynamic interplays of biological, socio-cultural and ecological factors, together with the economic exchange or transaction pose challenges with respect to the emergence and spread of infectious diseases. The important challenges faced in the control and prevention of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases range from understanding the reasons of emergence to development of surveillance systems and also identifying and addressing the factors contributing to the spread. In his article an attempt is being made to look at the issue of spread of pathogens through the paper currency. Attempt has also been made to identify the sources and solutions to address the issue of pathogen transmission through currency notes.