Pest Videos

Transcript

Hi, I'm Dr. Jorge Parada, medical advisor for the National Pest Management Association. Today, I'm going to talk about the correlation between bedbugs and disease.

Ever since bedbugs made a resurgence in the late 1990s, people have been concerned about the potential for this pest to transmit disease to humans. Although some blood-feeding insects like ticks and mosquitoes are known to transmit diseases, including West Nile virus and Lyme disease, bedbugs are not known to transmit diseases to humans.

However, some pathogens have been detected in and on bedbugs. These include hepatitis B and exotic organisms such as Trypanosoma cruzi, the cause of Chagas disease, and the bacteria Wolbachia. But again, there is no indication that bedbugs can transmit these diseases to humans.

Bedbugs also do not transmit MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). There have been reports of people developing worse infections, such as boils or abscesses, associated with bedbug bites, but these infections were secondary. MRSA infections associated with bedbug bites are actually an example of scratching leading to minor trauma and subsequent secondary bacterial infection. 

In these cases, people who are carriers of MRSA scratch at the bites and provide a port of entry for MRSA, which was already present on their skin. This allows it to get under the skin and cause a secondary infection. Bedbugs can be blamed for the itch but not for the infection.

Although MRSA associated with bedbug infestations is very rare, you should still be familiar with the signs of an infection. The symptoms of MRSA depend on where you are infected. Most often, it causes mild infections on the skin like sores or boils, but it can also cause more serious skin infections or infect surgical wounds, the bloodstream, the lungs, or the urinary tract.

Avoid scratching bedbug bites and other cuts on your skin to reduce the chance of MRSA infections. Clean bedbug bites with soap and warm water. If you suspect an infection, see your healthcare provider promptly. Your doctor will examine the affected area and, if necessary, take a culture and run a lab test to see if you have MRSA. Depending on your symptoms, your doctor may also test your blood, urine, or saliva.

If you do have MRSA, treatment will depend on the type and location of the infection. If you are prescribed an antibiotic, be sure to take all of the doses, even if your infection is getting better, unless your doctor tells you otherwise. MRSA can be spread from person to person, so if other people you know or live with get the same infection, they should consult their healthcare provider.

Thank you for watching this episode of Health Checks. That's all the time we have for today.