Category Archives: Public Health

Bed bugs and public health

A pest of significant public health importance, cont’d

With people’s backs against the wall in various cities of the United States, the CDC and EPA pronounce themselves officially on the case of “alarming” U.S. bed bug resurgence: CDC-EPA Joint Statement on bed bug control in the U.S. What … Continue reading

Posted in Public Health | Tagged , , | Comments Off

Bite sensitivity, new data

The results of the bed bug bite survey we heard so much about are reported in this new article, The Sensitivity Spectrum: Human Reactions to Bed Bug Bites (PCT February 2010, Michael F. Potter, Kenneth F. Haynes, Kevin Connelly, Michael … Continue reading

Posted in Public Health, Research | Tagged , | 5 Comments

#44

Not sure how I missed this but check out the CDC’s internal site search stats for 2009. Bed bugs rank #44 on the list of keywords, behind scabies, above smoking. 25,506 searches. Frustrated searchers to be sure. I’m good for … Continue reading

Posted in Public Health, Statistics | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Ohio’s Section 18 exemption request, draft labels and public comment period

The Environmental Protection Agency has published Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Section 18 exemption request for propoxur in the Federal Register. The public comment period ends on January 21. The docket is EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0856. The notice:  Propoxur; Receipt of Application for Emergency … Continue reading

Posted in Issues and Challenges, Public Health | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Australian medical entomologists on what GPs should know

Not everyday that you read this: Mental health impact One aspect of the medical affects of bed bug bites that is almost never addressed is the significant psychological distress caused by the bites. This is a very real health problem … Continue reading

Posted in Public Health | Tagged | Comments Off

So, it’s propoxur

Update: Federal Register notice published; public comment period ends January 21, 2010. When we noticed the talk about the active consideration by EPA of Section 18 emergency exemptions for bed bugs, it wasn’t clear which pesticides were being discussed. The … Continue reading

Posted in News, Public Health | Tagged , , , , , , | 22 Comments

The city’s new flu portal

http://www.nyc.gov/flu This is one of the things we would want for bed bugs. I say this with humility. I know these are two different public health problems. And there are no comparable resources. But still. See also: our enthusiasm over … Continue reading

Posted in Public Health | Tagged | Comments Off

New guidance for bed bugs in health care facilities

A new article on bed bugs in health care facilities from Orkin and the American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES) of the American Hospital Association is out: Pulling Back the Sheets on the Bed Bug Controversy: Research, Prevention and … Continue reading

Posted in Public Health | Tagged , | 30 Comments

“A continuous and sustained effort”: Q&A with Dr. Stephen W. Hwang

Dr. Stephen W. Hwang is a research scientist at the Centre for Research on Inner City Health, the Keenan Research Centre in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital, and Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of … Continue reading

Posted in Featured, Interviews, Public Health, Toronto | Tagged , | 5 Comments

New case report of severe anemia in a patient with an advanced infestation

A new Canadian Medical Association Journal article reports on a patient who was ultimately hospitalized with severe anemia “almost certainly caused by ongoing blood loss from multiple bedbug bites.” Pritchard, M.J. & Hwang, S.W., 2009. Severe anemia from bedbugs. CMAJ, … Continue reading

Posted in Public Health | Tagged , | Comments Off