A realistic transfer method reveals low risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission via contaminated euro coins and banknotes
Daniel Todt,
Toni Luise Meister,
Barbora Tamele,
John Howes,
Dajana Paulmann,
Britta Becker,
Florian H. Brill,
Mark Wind,
Jack Schijven,
Natalie Heinen,
Volker Kinast,
Baxolele Mhlekude,
Christine Goffinet,
Adalbert Krawczyk,
Jörg Steinmann,
Stephanie Pfaender,
Yannick Brüggemann,
Eike Steinmann
Affiliations
Daniel Todt
Department of Molecular & Medical Virology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany; European Virus Bioinformatics Center (EVBC), 07743 Jena, Germany
Toni Luise Meister
Department of Molecular & Medical Virology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany
Barbora Tamele
European Central Bank (ECB), 60314 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
John Howes
European Central Bank (ECB), 60314 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Dajana Paulmann
Dr. Brill + Partner GmbH Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, 28259 Bremen, Germany
Britta Becker
Dr. Brill + Partner GmbH Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, 28259 Bremen, Germany
Florian H. Brill
Dr. Brill + Partner GmbH Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, 28259 Bremen, Germany
Mark Wind
Cash Policy Department, De Nederlandsche Bank, 1000 Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Jack Schijven
Department of Statistics, Informatics and Modeling, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, 3720 Bilthoven, the Netherlands; Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, 3508 Utrecht, the Netherlands
Natalie Heinen
Department of Molecular & Medical Virology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany
Volker Kinast
Department of Molecular & Medical Virology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany
Baxolele Mhlekude
Institute of Virology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany; Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), 10117 Berlin, Germany
Christine Goffinet
Institute of Virology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany; Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), 10117 Berlin, Germany
Adalbert Krawczyk
Institute for Virology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany; Department of Infectious Diseases, West German Centre of Infectious Diseases, Universitätsmedizin Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
Jörg Steinmann
Institute of Clinical Hygiene, Medical Microbiology and Infectiology, General Hospital Nürnberg, Paracelsus Medical University, 90419 Nuremberg, Germany; Institute of Medical Microbiology, University Hospital of Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany
Stephanie Pfaender
Department of Molecular & Medical Virology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany
Yannick Brüggemann
Department of Molecular & Medical Virology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany
Eike Steinmann
Department of Molecular & Medical Virology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany; Corresponding author
Summary: The current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has created a significant threat to global health. While respiratory aerosols or droplets are considered as the main route of human-to-human transmission, secretions expelled by infected individuals can also contaminate surfaces and objects, potentially creating the risk of fomite-based transmission. Consequently, frequently touched objects such as paper currency and coins have been suspected as potential transmission vehicle. To assess the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission by banknotes and coins, we examined the stability of SARS-CoV-2 and bovine coronavirus, as surrogate with lower biosafety restrictions, on these different means of payment and developed a touch transfer method to examine transfer efficiency from contaminated surfaces to fingertips. Although we observed prolonged virus stability, our results indicate that transmission of SARS-CoV-2 via contaminated coins and banknotes is unlikely and requires high viral loads and a timely order of specific events.
