Bedbugs at Broadlawns Medical Center

DES MOINES, IA — An Iowa hospital working to stop the spread of a bedbug infestation was forced to limit access to care in its psychiatric unit for three days after the insects were discovered in two patients' rooms, according to Business Week.

Officials at Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines, a public hospital that serves Polk County, said workers discovered bedbugs in a room during a routine cleaning in early February, the article noted.

The hospital hired Ecolab, a pest control company, to eradicate the room of the tiny parasites that feed on human blood and spray two adjacent rooms as a precaution; but the problem wasn't over yet, the article stated.

According to the article, more bedbugs were later discovered in another room, and the hospital decided to shut down the entire hallway and several patient rooms for spraying and cleaning to stop the spread.

The three-day process meant the hospital's mental health and psychiatric center, which normally houses 26, was forced to stop admitting patients, the article added.

Click here to read the complete article.

Resurgent bedbugs don't spread disease

CHICAGO — Once relegated to third-world nations, grandparents' memories and old nursery rhymes, bedbugs have enjoyed a dramatic and surprising resurgence, according to the Daily Herald.

The United States is experiencing "an alarming resurgence in the population of bedbugs," according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), because the pests have developed a resistance to pesticides and are able to spread so much faster due to increased international travel, the article stated.

The bugs don't spread malaria or other blood-borne diseases: Their beak-like mouths generally pierce the skin without causing enough pain to wake their victims, the article noted.

"They come out at 2 in the morning when you are least alert, feed on you for five minutes or so, and then go back into hiding," said Curt Colwell, entomologist with the Illinois Department of Public Health.

"A high percentage of people don't react at all," Colwell added.

Click here to read the complete article.

New white paper answers questions about bed bugs

ATLANTA — With increasing national coverage of beg bug infestations, Orkin Inc. and the American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES) of the American Hospital Association (AHA) have released a new white paper to answer questions about bed bugs and their implications for health care and long-term care providers, according to a press release.

In "Pulling Back the Sheets on the Bed Bug Controversy: Research, Prevention and Management in Hospital & Long-Term Care Facilities,” Orkin entomologists Ron Harrison, Ph.D. and Bill Lawrence, Ph.D. examine the current position of the medical and pest management communities on the bed bug issue, share Orkin technical and field research and offer tips on prevention, early detection and remediation, the release stated.

According to the release, the white paper will be distributed at the ASHES Annual Conference & Technical Exhibition in Reno, Nevada, September 21-22, after which it will be available for download at www.ashes.org.

ASHES and Orkin have partnered on educational materials in the past, including the ASHES Recommended Practice on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in the health care industry, the release noted.

ASHES Executive Director Patti Costello said: "Concern about bed bugs has grown steadily over the past decade alongside the bed bugs resurgence. We asked Orkin to provide some insight to help our members better understand the practical issues and solutions surrounding these pests."