Feeding on human blood, outbreaks in many countries! Beware of this bug...

Faded from people's sight for many years

Bed Bugs

Recently it has become active again

Bed bug crisis breaks out in many countries

According to reports

Bed bugs are not only rampant in the UK, France and other European countries

Recently, I have also "crossed the ocean"

Spread to South Korea

What are bed bugs?

Bed bugs, also known as bed bugs, feed mainly on human blood and are usually active at night , hiding in mattresses or box springs and migrating through clothing and luggage. Although the human body reacts to its bites in different ways, most of them manifest as redness, swelling and itching of the skin.

Picture of bed bugs. Source: Beijing Chaoyang Center for Disease Control

“Having bed bugs in your home is like a nightmare”

According to reports, this wave of bedbug crisis originated in France, from late August to early September, bedbugs were found in many places, and many people suffered from redness and swelling due to bedbug bites. More than 20 schools in France had to be temporarily closed due to bedbugs. The UK, which has frequent traffic with France, also encountered a bedbug crisis.

The French Minister of Health and Disease Prevention even said that bed bugs are really abominable. "When you see bed bugs around you, when you find bed bugs in your home, it's like a nightmare."

The British Broadcasting Corporation reported on October 16 that in recent months, bed bugs have been frequently found in hotels, subways, cinemas, hospitals and other places in many cities in France, Britain and other countries, especially in hotels and other businesses.

The bed bug crisis that has caused anxiety and panic in European countries has not eased, and has now spread to South Korea. According to Yonhap News Agency, as of November 6, 17 cities and provinces across South Korea have received more than 30 reports of bed bug infestations.

Bed bugs "invaded" a university dormitory in Daegu, South Korea. Source: CCTV Finance

Many people in South Korea are in a panic over the infestation of bedbugs. They don't want to sit on subway seats or go to the cinema for fear of being bitten by bedbugs and bringing them home. On the subway, some people would rather stand than sit on the cloth seats.

Yang Yong-chul, a professor at the Department of Health and Environmental Safety at Eulji University in South Korea, warned that bed bugs spread quickly, are difficult to eliminate, and can spread to a wide area in a short period of time.

Ye Yip-fan, a member of the Hong Kong Pest Control Practitioners Association, said that the "bed bug storm" in foreign countries has attracted attention. Taking his pest control company as an example, the number of inquiries received from citizens has soared by nearly 40% in recent days, with nearly 50 cases in the past week. In the discussion area on bed bugs and bed bugs on social networks, many Hong Kong citizens showed traces of bed bugs in their homes, including on the bed or sofa.

The chairman of the Hong Kong Pest Management Association, Chan Tak-sum, said that bed bugs can be spread to all parts of the world by plane, through train, railway or ship, and it is believed that the infestation is not limited to the UK, France and South Korea. South Korea is one of the popular travel destinations for Hong Kong people. The wheels of suitcases may "hide lice". If there are bed bugs, it will be very troublesome to bring them home.

Why are bed bugs so scary?

The report said that the reason why Korean people are so panicked is that it is not easy to completely eliminate bed bugs, and if you are accidentally bitten by bed bugs, it is likely to cause skin itching or even infection symptoms such as blisters or urticaria, and in severe cases it may even cause high fever.

Yang Yong-chul, a professor at the Department of Health and Environmental Safety at Eulji University in South Korea, said: "Only three or four mosquitoes will bite at the same time, but there may be 30 to 50 bedbugs sucking blood at the same time, which will cause severe itching symptoms."

According to the China National Radio website, Zhao Li, curator of Chengdu Huaxi Insect Museum, said that bed bugs are also known as bed bugs, wall lice, wood lice, flat mantis, etc. They belong to the class Insecta, order Hemiptera, family Cimexidae. Bed bugs have scent glands that can secrete smelly fluid, which mainly serves to defend against natural enemies and promote mating. Wherever bed bugs crawl, they leave an unpleasant odor, hence the name bed bug.

Bed bugs are wingless and small, and they go through three stages in their life cycle: egg, nymph, and adult. The eggs of bed bugs are oval, milky white, and about 1 mm long. The newly hatched nymphs undergo five molts before developing into adults, which are 4 to 5 mm long and flat and oval in shape. Bed bugs can mate 2 to 3 days after emergence, and the females begin to lay eggs a few days after sucking blood. They reproduce 3 to 4 generations a year in temperate regions and 5 to 6 generations in tropical regions.

After being bitten by bed bugs, symptoms such as redness, swelling and inflammation of the skin will appear. Source: Beijing Chaoyang Center for Disease Control

Hemiptera insects have an important medical characteristic - biting people. Bed bugs like to suck the blood of humans and livestock. When people are bitten by bed bugs, they will experience symptoms of skin redness, swelling, inflammation, itching and pain, and sometimes they can spread other diseases.

In my country, tropical bed bugs are mainly distributed in the south of the Yangtze River, while temperate bed bugs are distributed in all parts of my country. Bed bugs mainly live in indoor walls, cracks in wooden furniture, straw mats, bed mats, etc., or in the cracks in tables and chairs in transportation and public places.

Bed bugs tend to live in groups, hiding during the day and active at night to suck blood. They do not have strict selection criteria for their hosts. In addition to humans, they will also suck the blood of other mammals, even birds.

Although a variety of pathogens, including hepatitis B virus and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, have been isolated from bed bugs, there is currently no evidence that bed bugs are carriers of some viruses and bacteria. Therefore, the probability of bed bug bites spreading diseases to humans is much lower than that of other insects.

If you are bitten by a bed bug, you can use soapy water or baking soda to wash, or use floral water or compound calamine lotion to relieve itching. If there is suppuration, you can apply erythromycin ointment locally. If the infection is more serious, you need to take oral anti-inflammatory drugs. If the local area is red, swollen, hot, and has a fever, you should consider allergies, combine anti-allergic treatment, and seek medical attention in time.

How to prevent bed bugs from entering your home?

Keep your home clean and tidy, including cleaning and vacuuming regularly, avoiding second-hand furniture that has not been disinfected, replacing peeling wallpaper as soon as possible, and filling gaps in walls and floors.

• Spray your luggage with insecticide before returning home from travel

Before going home, find an open space to put your luggage and spray it with commercially available insecticide to kill insects, paying attention to corners and gaps.

• Wash clothes with high-temperature steam or hot water

Physical pest control methods can also be used for items such as clothes, including using a steam machine to kill lice at high temperatures and washing clothes in hot water at 60 to 80 degrees for at least 20 seconds.

Source/People's Daily Science Comprehensive Guangzhou Daily, Liaoshen Evening News, National Business Daily, Global Times, China National Radio, Dafeng News, China News Service

Editor/Song Wenzhen

Editor of this issue/Xing Zheng