Make sure you’re washing your hands after handling Canadian currency, people! Because we just heard some nasty news about our money… A recent study published by Gambling.ca revealed that Canada is home to filthiest cash in the world. Yes, we ranked number one on that list and frankly, it wasn’t even close. This also proves that sometimes winning really isn’t everything.

The study took into account 20 of the most-used casino currencies around the globe. They sent these currencies over to a group of microbiologists who did all kinds of swab tests to examine which hidden bacteria were present. If you’ve got a weak stomach, consider this your warning.

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filthiest money

The findings turned up all kinds of nasty little bugs. Most commonly, they found bacteria like saccharomyces cerevisiae (which can cause urinary tract infections), fusarisum (which commonly causes Keratis), nucor racemosus (causes respiratory fungal infection), rhisopus (cause a different fungal infection), and micrococcus (which can cause pneumonia).

If all those words were too science-y for you to understand, just head on over to this website and check out the bills in “microscope mode.”

In Canadian money specifically, the study found 209 bacterial colonies. Those included harmful bacteria like Bacillus, which has strains that cause food poisoning and sometimes even anthrax. Like we said, wash those hands, people!

The next closest was Brazil, with a measly 118 bacterial colonies. Honestly, we’re not sure if this specific sample of Canadian cash was just outrageously filthy or if we really just have the world’s dirtiest money.

If all this nasty isn’t enough for you, do a deep dive by checking out the study in full right here.