If you thought dirty money was only found in offshore bank accounts, check your wallet instead. But you may want to wash your hands afterward.

Almost 60% of Europeans believe cash is the dirtiest item they come into contact with, ahead of escalator handrails, buttons on payment terminals and library books, according to a suvey of 1,000 people released on March 25 by Mastercard.

A further 83% of the respondents, taken from 15 countries across Europe, believe cash carries a lot of bacteria. And they are right.

Independent tests on European money conducted by a team of scientists at Oxford University in December 2012, revealed that the average banknote contains 26,000 bacteria, enough germs to make you feel nauseous, and possibly even spread disease.

"Europeans' perceptions of dirty cash are not without reason," Ian Thompson, the professor from Oxford University who tested the cash, said in a news release. "The bank notes we tested harbored an average of 26,000 bacteria, which, for a number of pathogenic organisms, is sufficient for passing on infection.”

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/28/business/dirty-money/index.html