银行卡比钞票脏：10%的银行卡携带粪便污染物！

Next time you get your debit card out, you might want to use it to buy some hand wash.

下次掏出借记卡时，你也许会想用它来买些洗手产品。

A study has found that nearly one in 10 bank cards contains faecal matter. Cash is little better with one in seven bank notes containing high levels of bacteria similar to that found in a dirty toilet bowl.

一项研究发现，将近10%的银行卡携带粪便污物。钞票的情况也好不到哪儿去，1/7的钞票细菌含量和很脏的马桶内细菌含量相当。

The research, carried out at Queen Mary, University of London and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, showed our hands are therefore dirtier than we might think.

这项由伦敦大学玛丽皇后学院、伦敦卫生和热带医学院发起的研究表明，由于以上原因，我们的双手比我们想象的要脏。

More than a quarter (26 per cent) of hands sampled showed traces of faecal contamination including bacteria such as E.coli, the study found.

这项研究发现，超过1/4（26%）的手部样本被测出有粪尿污物，含有细菌如大肠杆菌。

And we may be making ourselves ill as a result. A further survey of the 272 participants revealed only 39 per cent washed their hands before eating.

这可能导致我们患病。一项有272人参与的进一步调查表明，只有39%的人在进食前会洗手。

The vast majority (91 per cent) of respondents also stated that they washed their hands after using the toilet, although the levels of faecal organisms contaminating the cards and currency suggested otherwise, researchers said.

研究人员说，大部分（91%）接受调查的对象声称他们在上厕所后会洗手。而银行卡和钞票上携带的大量粪便污染成分却暗示情况并非如此。

Washing hands with soap can reduce diarrhoeal infections by up to 42 per cent but only 69 per cent of people reported doing this whenever possible.

用肥皂洗手可以使痢疾的致病率下降42%，但根据报告，只有69%的人会坚持这么做。

Dr Ron Cutler, who led the research at Queen Mary, said: 'Our analysis revealed that by handling cards and money each day we are coming into contact with some potential pathogens revealing faecal contamination including E. coli and Staphylococci.

玛丽皇后学院研究项目负责人罗恩-卡特勒博士说：“我们的研究发现，在日常使用银行卡和钞票的过程中，我们接触到了一些潜在的致病菌，它们来自含有大肠杆菌和葡萄球菌的粪便污染物。”

'People may tell us they wash their hands but the research shows us different, and highlights just how easily transferable these pathogens are, surviving on our money and cards.'

“人们也许说他们会洗手，但研究显示却并非如此，这提醒我们，残留在钞票和银行卡上的致病菌是多么容易传播。”

Dr Val Curtis, from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: 'Our research shows just how important handwashing is - the surprising levels of contamination that we found on everyday objects is a sign that people are forgetting to wash their hands after the toilet, one of the key moments for infection prevention.'

来自伦敦卫生和热带医学院的瓦尔-柯蒂斯博士说：“我们的研究表明洗手有多么重要——我们在日常用品上发现的惊人污染物含量证明，人们在上厕所后忘了要洗手，而这正是预防传染病的一个重要环节。”

Nick Wilcher, marketing manager of Radox, who funded the study to raise awareness of Global Handwashing Day, said: 'Our research highlights just how much bacteria we are exposed to in our everyday lives, on objects such as money and cards.

乐多舒肥皂公司资助了此项研究，这项研究意在唤起大家对全球洗手日的认识。该公司市场部经理尼克-韦尔奇说：“我们的研究提醒大家，我们在日常生活中接触了大量的细菌，比如钞票和银行卡上。”

'We hope this study makes people think twice and encourages people to wash their hands after going to the toilet and before eating.'

“我们希望这项研究让人们反思，从而促使大家在饭前便后洗手。”

Samples were taken from 272 people from east and west London, Birmingham and Liverpool - and in total 816 specimens were collected.

研究样本从来自东西伦敦、伯明翰和利物浦的272人的随身物品中提取——总共采集了816份样本。

Out of the samples taken, the cards and notes in Birmingham showed the most contamination, with faecal matter detected on 17 per cent of specimens.

在提取的样本中，来自伯明翰的银行卡和钞票携带的污染物最多，17%的样本中都检测到粪便污物。