RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

Bed bugs found in Hospital for Children

Bed bugs were discovered this weekend at Riley Hospital for Children, an Indiana University Health official said this morning.

"Bed bugs continue to be an issue nationwide," said IU Health spokeswoman Abby Gras in an email. "To ensure the safety of our patients and families, we work closely with our infection control and environmental services departments to ensure the incident is isolated and dealt with in a timely manner."

A family staying at the hospital with a newborn daughter shared photos of the bedbugs and an email with WXIN (Channel 59). WXIN did not name the family in its reports, and the hospital has not named the family in responding to them.

Bed bugs are small, oval, brownish insects that live on the blood of animals or humans, according to the WebMD.com. Adult bedbugs have flat bodies about the size of an apple seed. After feeding, their bodies swell and turn a reddish color.

Although their bites cause redness and itching, the insects do not transmit diseases, according to the medical information website.

Bed bugs can be inadvertently brought home in luggage and other items after motel or hospital stays. They often hide in mattresses, box springs, bedframes and headboards. They are active mostly at night.

Cleanliness and hygiene, experts say, have no connection to incidence of bed bugs. A single stowaway ready to lay eggs can lead to an infestation in a clean and well-kept environment.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Waldorf Astoria is Haven for Bedbugs! Md. Tourist Third to Sue Famed Hotel for Bloodsucker 'Attack'

A Maryland woman is suing the Waldorf Astoria for $10 million because, she says, she awoke at the fancy hotel and found bedbugs all over her body.

Svetlana Tendler is the third tourist since last year to sue the famed Park Ave. hotel over a nasty encounter with the tiny bloodsuckers.

"I felt like I was eaten alive by bedbugs, which have attacked my body," she said.

Tendler, her husband, Jacob, and their two kids stayed at the hotel in August 2007, the suit says.

One morning, she awoke to a nasty bedbug attack.

Photographs released by her lawyer, Anna Carley, show bites on Tendler's arms and legs.

"The defendants did nothing to assist plaintiff, Svetlana Tendler, in treatment of ... bed bites or fumigation of [her] luggage," says the suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Tendler, of Owings Mill, Md., initially filed a summons against the hotel in August.

She filed a new, detailed complaint this week.

A Michigan woman who says bedbugs attacked her during a family vacation sued the hotel in November.

The hotel also was sued in October by a woman whose 6-year-old daughter said she was victimized by bedbugs during a visit last February.

Hilton Worldwide, which owns the Waldorf Astoria, declined to comment.

Source = NY Daily News

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

Bed Bug Bites Drive Indian Train Passengers to De-board and Demand a New Train Carriage

After complaining about bed bug bites for just under a hundred kilometers, twenty-two passengers in a bed bug-infested railway compartment in India got off their train yesterday, and demanded railway officials provide them with a new train carriage. Tormented by bedbugs, passengers in one of the air-conditioned coaches of the Jammu Tawi Express from Mangalore got off the compartment here early on Tuesday and forced railway authorities to replace the carriage.

The 22 passengers in the compartment said they had been continuously bitten by bedbugs ever since the train passed Shoranur. In Coimbatore, they left the compartment with their luggage and demanded a replacement coach.

The train was delayed at Coimbatore for three-and-a-half hours. The travellers shouted slogans, and the issue was resolved only after station deputy superintendent M Chandran intervened. The train was delayed at Coimbatore for three-and-a-half hours. The travellers shouted slogans, and the issue was resolved only after station deputy superintendent M Chandran intervened. An air-conditioned coach from another train was taken from the maintenance yard and attached to the Jammu-bound train. The compartment with bugs was disinfected and later attached to the same train.

A ticket examiner said passengers had started complaining at Shoranur about the bugs. In Palakkad, they were told to wait till the train reached Coimbatore. "It was sheer luck that we were able to find an AC coach in the maintenance yard. Otherwise, things may have gone out of control," said a railway official here.

Source = India times

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA