Although small in size, bed bugs feed off of the blood of their victims as they sleep at night. Found in hotel rooms, trains and even movie theaters or airplane seats, bed bugs infestations are becoming more frequent in Paris, a popular tourist location.
10 months before the French capital prepares to host the 2024 Olympics, a wave of severe bed bug infestations appeared throughout the city. Though bed bug sightings were reported earlier this summer, the frequency of these reports increased towards the end of September and caused major disruption to both locals and tourists.
“It’s not surprising to me because Paris is a big city,” said Green Hope health science teacher Robynn Wilhelmi. “They have so many people from all over the place, and bed bugs spread very easily.”
Bed bugs infestations can be dated back to ancient civilizations where they were found fossilized at archaeological sites in Egypt. For over 3,000 years, these parasites have been a persistent issue until the early 1950s, when pest control products and improved hygiene drove numbers down. Since then, bed bug issues have reduced among most urbanized areas. However, due to increased travel and decreased awareness of these pests, the risk of resurgences increase.
Typically, an infestation of bed bugs is identified by spotting the bugs or their fecal stains in mattresses, headboards or cracks around a bed. Due to their nocturnal nature, experts say that using a strong flashlight can also aid in bed bug detection.
As mass transportation becomes more convenient and frequently used for cities with high population densities, bed bugs are more likely to be transported. They can lodge onto suitcases, backpacks or purses, which can facilitate their spread.
Ms. Wilhelmi explained the potential influence that Paris Fashion Week has on the infestations. “Especially…Fashion week, [Paris] has a lot of clothing, cotton, and fibers [which] bed bugs tend to hide in.” Wilhelmi said. “If [Paris] is bringing bags of clothes or luggage [from unsuspecting travelers], bed bugs crawl onto their beds and [suddenly] there’s ten bed bugs all over the room.”
With a high reproductive rate, bed bugs may infest a single bed with as many as 5,000 larvae. Upon arriving in new locations, a female bed bug can already carry 200 to 500 eggs.
While bed bugs are not directly attributed to transmitting disease, these parasites do cause a variety of negative physical, mental and economic consequences to victims, including allergic reactions, skin rashes and anaphylaxis. For those living in infested homes, the costs of government quarantine and bug eradication can also cause burden.
“[Bed bugs aren’t] a serious disease that’s going to kill you. The problem with bed bugs is that once you get them in your [personal items] and you take them into your home, then you have a whole other slew of problems people don’t want,” Ms. Wilhelmi said.
Wilhelmi elaborates on the associated costs of removing the bugs. “A physical therapy clinic that I worked at had two episodes of bed bugs…where patients would be bringing them in on their clothes, or bed bugs would be falling off of them… It cost around $2,000 to get [the patients] detoxed [and fully cleaned off].”
The rapid increase of bed bugs infestations worries Paris City Hall about the potential risk for visitors of the Olympic Games in the summer of 2024. Addressing and eradicating the pests at a national level is still a government plan; however, bed bugs remain a current public health issue in France.
