Category Archives: Bed Bugs Mississippi

ContextBed bug (Cimex lectularius) infestations are rapidly increasing worldwide. Health consequences include nuisance biting and cutaneous and systemic reactions. The potential for bed bugs to serve as disease vectors and optimal methods for bed bug pest control and eradication are unclear.

ObjectivesTo present current knowledge of the health and medical effects of bed bugs and to explore key issues in pest control and eradication efforts.

Data SourcesA search of MEDLINE and EMBASE databases (1960-October 2008) for articles using the keywords bed bugs, Cimex lectularius, humans, parasitology, pathogenicity, and drug effects. For pest control, PubMed and Toxline searches (1960-October 2008) were performed using the keywords bed bugs, Cimex, control, prevention, and eradication. Manual searches of older journals, textbooks, pest control trade journals, and newspapers (1892-October 2008) were also performed.

Study SelectionOriginal accounts or investigations of bed bugs, clinical responses with sufficient detail of cause and effect between the bed bug bite and clinical response, and convincing evidence of substantiated presence of bed bug exposure. For pest control, documentation that an eradication measure quantitatively decreased bed bugs.

Data ExtractionA trained medical reference librarian assisted with the literature search. Two authors with expertise in the diagnosis, treatment, and eradication of bed bugs reviewed the clinical articles. One author evaluated the pest control articles.

Data SynthesisFifty-three articles met inclusion criteria and were summarized. Only 2 clinical trials concerning bed bugs were identified and tested the ability of pest control interventions to eradicate bed bugs. Although transmission of more than 40 human diseases has been attributed to bed bugs, there is little evidence that they are vectors of communicable disease. A variety of clinical reactions to bed bugs have been reported, including cutaneous and rarely systemic reactions. A wide range of empirical treatments, including antibiotics, antihistamines, topical and oral corticosteroids, and epinephrine, have been used for bite reactions with varying results. No evidence-based interventions to eradicate bed bugs or prevent bites were identified.

ConclusionsTreatment options for cutaneous and systemic reactions from bed bug bites have not been evaluated in clinical trials and there is no evidence that outcomes differ significantly from those receiving no treatment. Evidence for disease transmission by bed bugs is lacking. Pest control and eradication is challenging due to insecticide resistance, lack of effective products, and health concerns about spraying mattresses with pesticides.

Continued here:
JAMA Network | JAMA | Bed Bugs (Cimex lectularius) and Clinical ...

The research of two Mississippi medical professionals Dr. Richard deShazo and Dr. Jerome Goddard brought the nation some welcome news in 2009: Bed bugs leave nasty bites that are hard to treat but no evidence exists to indicate they spread disease.

Tiny bed bugs will suck your blood but do they carry disease?

Their article appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association and landed them a spot on NBCs The Today Show.

Until the review by deShazo, chairman of the University of Mississippi Medical Center Department of Medicine, and Goddard, a Mississippi State University an entomology professor, little was known about the risks associated with bed bug bites.

Three months ago, deShazo and Goddard published a paper in the American Journal of Medicine on treating the blistering psychological effects of bed bug attacks.

In the 2009 article, their research determined bed bugs do not transmit dangerous diseases such as HIV or hepatitis. Even today, though, deShavo is not entirely sure the parasitic bed bugs are entirely free of pathogens.

We have to keep a close eye on this, he said.

One problem in assessing bed bug bites, according to deShazo, is that many bite victims have no reaction at all. Many others will get only a brief itch.

But people who develop allergies to them or are bit repetitively get these skins reactions that persist for weeks.

We use to miss them because it was such an unusual thing. But now we look for them when people come in with a rash.

Visit link:
New research shows bed bugs are not disease spreaders

MEMPHIS, TN -

(WMC-TV) - Bed bugs are back and this time they shut down a Memphis dorm.

The Shelby County Health Department had to close the Ben Hooks Job Corps dorm because of the bed bug infestation.

Students staying in the Ben Hooks Job Corps Center dorms suffered welts all over their bodies following a bed bug infestation that some say has plagued the center for two years.

Photos of the students show their arms, stomachs, and legs covered it painful red bite marks. The students learned "Good night, don't let the bed bugs bite" is not just a bedtime rhyme.

"We have students sleeping in chairs, sleeping on the floors because they're tired of being bitten by bed bugs," said former Job Corps board member Albert Robinson.

Robinson mentors students at the Ben Hooks Job Corps Center.

He said a pesky problem is shedding a dim light on Memphis and the State of Tennessee because students trained here come from all the country.

"We want it to be addressed and addressed properly so that the children can feel safe at the center," said Robinson.

After a series of complaints, the Shelby County Health Department went in for an inspection and found bed bugs behind the beds, in mattresses, on sheets, and along the baseboards.

Link:
Bed bugs close Memphis dormitory

PEARL, MS (WLBT) -

Kelly Lancaster and her husband and children lived in apartment 49 at the Colonial Terrace Apartments in Pearl for several months, but moved out Thursday.

She says the apartment is full of bed bugs, and her family is covered with bites.

"We have a one-year-old, she's gotten bitten up really bad in her face, all over her back," Lancaster says.

"I mean this is awful. I had to buy scar cream," she says, showing us the welts on her back, arms, and legs.

Pamela Freeman lives directly upstairs.

"I had to put tape up where they were coming in at," she says, showing us where shehas sealed up her home in the corners and around the windows. She also sprays her bed every night, but she says the bed bugs still get in.

"Each time they feed, they shed. They grow," Freeman says. "My neighbor, she's got (bites) all over her."

Lancaster and Freeman say they've complained to management about it, and efforts have been made to treat the problem.

"They came in, heated our apartment to 140 degrees twice, sprayed some type of kerosene. It did nothing. We've thrown out our beds, everything," Lancaster says.

Read more:
Allegations of bed bugs at Pearl apartments

08-01-2012 06:40 This clip is part of our Mississippi Blues Trail Trip April/May 2011. For more infos go here: http://www.busybedbugsusa2011.blogspot.com

The rest is here:
The Busy Bedbugs - With The Tram Trough Memphis 2011 - Video