The mental health impact of bed bug infestations: a scoping review

Ashcroft, Rachelle; Seko, Yukari; Chan, Lai Fong; Dere, Jessica; Kim, Jaemin; McKenzie, Kwame

doi:10.1007/s00038-015-0713-8

Cited by 45 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Although they are not known to be vectors of human diseases, bed bugs can cause allergic reactions (Goddard and deShazo 2009), significant psychological distress, social stigma (Hwang et al 2005, Susser et al 2012, Ashcroft et al 2015, and an economic burden to sufferers of infestations (Potter 2006). In the United States, infestations are particularly prevalent in affordable housing communities (Sutherland et al 2015.…”

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confidence: 99%

Pest Management Strategies for Bed Bugs (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) in Multiunit Housing: A Literature Review on Field Studies

Romero

Sutherland

Gouge

et al. 2017

Journal of Integrated Pest Management

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Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) continue to increase as serious pests in the built environment. These insects are particularly problematic in low-income multiunit housing buildings, where infestations are difficult to control, tend to become chronic, and the locations serve as reservoirs from which bed bugs disperse. This document reviews and reports on published accounts and validations of various methods to detect and manage bed bugs in these urban settings. The analysis demonstrates that programs using IPM approaches for bed bug management can lead to significant reductions in bed bug incidence and density when compared with insecticidereliant approaches. However, total elimination of bed bugs in multiunit environments remains a challenge and is often reported as unattainable, raising concerns about the effectiveness of strategies for bed bug management used in these environments. Several factors may contribute to the persistence of bed bugs in low-income, multiunit housing situations, including lack of awareness and education of residents and staff about bed bugs, overall building infestation levels, resident lifestyles, reluctance to report infestations, resident abilities to undertake unit preparation required by some pest management companies, and low efficacy of insecticide treatments. Although community-wide and proactive bed bug management programs are shown to be more effective, sustainable, and economically viable in the long term than reactive and insecticide-only programs, general adoption of best practices may be impeded by budget limitations and interest of affordable multiunit housing providers. ResumenLos chinches de cama (Cimex lectularius) es una plaga que se sigue expandiendo en ambientes urbanos. Estos insectos representan un serio problema en edificaciones multi-residenciales de familias de bajos nivel de ingresos econ omicos, donde las infestaciones son dif ıciles de controlar, tienden a volverse cr onicas y sirven de reservorios desde donde los chinches se dispersan. Este documento revisa y reporta informaci on publicada de la validaci on de varios mé todos para para detectar y manejar los chinches de cama en estos ambientes urbanos. El an alisis mostr o que los programas que usan abordajes de Manejo Integrado de Plagas (MIPs) para el control de los chinches de cama pueden reducir de manera significativa la incidencia y densidad de estos insectos, si se compara con los programas donde se utilizan solamente insecticidas. Sin embargo, la erradicaci on de los chinches de cama en estos ambientes sigue siendo un reto y muchas veces dif ıcil de alcanzar, lo que genera dudas acerca de la eficacia de estos programas para el chinche de cama usados en estos ambientes. Varios factores podr ıan contribuir a la persistencia de chinches de cama en estas edificaciones, los cuales incluye la escasez de concientizaci on y educaci on de residentes y personal administrativo acerca del

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confidence: 99%

Pest Management Strategies for Bed Bugs (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) in Multiunit Housing: A Literature Review on Field Studies

Romero

Sutherland

Gouge

et al. 2017

Journal of Integrated Pest Management

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“…Bedbug infestation can produce psychological distress including nightmares, insomnia, stress, anxiety, avoidance behaviors, anemia, paranoia and personal dysfunction (7). Furthermore, physical and mental health consequences can be common among individuals living with bedbug infestation (8). Bedbug bites are painless and cause itchy skin, but can vary between individuals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bedbug bites are painless and cause itchy skin, but can vary between individuals. Bedbug bites are more commonly on the arms, forearms, legs, torso, neck and face (8). The pattern of bedbug biting distribution is in a linear sequence, with 3-4 bites in a line or curve; sometimes referred to as the "breakfast, lunch, and dinner" pattern (7).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The social impacts of bedbug infestation as an emerging public health issue: a case report

Alizadeh¹,

Gorouhi²,

Afshar³

et al. 2019

Electron. physician

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Introduction: Bedbugs (Cimex spp.) are a public health problem and an urban pest that require blood meal from humans, other mammals or birds to survive. Bedbugs constitute an emerging public health problem and infestations have been reported globally. This paper reports three cases of social health problems caused by bedbugs in three residential buildings in Kish Island, Dezful, and Ahvaz in southern Iran. Case presentation: Case 1; A 42-year-old male living in Dezful city had a bedbug infestation in his house (September 2018). He developed a phobia (entomophobia) about bedbugs. Case 2; A 36-year-old man and 33year-old woman living in Ahvaz city had a bedbug infestation in their house (August 2017). The woman was very concerned about the bedbug infestation in the house and she had entomophobia, stress, anxiety, insomnia and paranoia; this issue caused resentment and hence conflict between the couple. Case 3: A 25-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man living in Kish Island rented a house from a 45-year-old man. The landlord was very concerned about the bedbug infestation in the house (July 2017), and claimed that the tenants were responsible for bedbugs' presence. This issue caused hostility and conflict between them. Generally, all cases had bedbug infestations in their houses and this issue caused some social health problems such as entomophobia, concern, fear, stress, anxiety, insomnia, paranoia, resentment and conflict. Takeaway lesson: Bedbugs are not vectors for infectious disease. But, with regard to our observations in the present study, bedbug infestations can produce some social health problems such as entomophobia, concern, fear, stress, anxiety, insomnia and paranoia, as well as resentment, hostility and conflict between residents in infested houses.

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“…4,5 Cimex lectularius and other Cimex species are associated with a variety of human health issues including skin lesions, anemia, and mental health problems. [6][7][8][9][10] Although bed bugs are not presently implicated as vectors of human pathogens, at different points throughout the last century, bed bugs have been suspected of carrying more than 40 different human pathogens, 11,12 including bacteria, fungus, virus, and protozoa species. Indeed, at least under laboratory conditions, bed bugs are able to transmit deadly pathogens.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trypanosoma cruzi Infection Does Not Decrease Survival or Reproduction of the Common Bed Bug, Cimex lectularius

Peterson

Salazar

Castillo-Neyra

et al. 2018

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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Although not presently implicated as a vector of human pathogens, the common bed bug, , has been suspected of carrying human pathogens because of its close association with humans and its obligate hematophagy. Recently, we characterized the vectorial competence of for the parasite , the causative agent of Chagas disease. We observed that can acquire infection when fed on-carrying mice, and subsequently transmit to uninfected mice. This led us to ask why has not been implicated in the transmission of outside of the laboratory? We hypothesized that reduces fitness (i.e., survival and/or reproduction) as an explanation for why does not to transmit in natural settings. We tested this hypothesis by comparing the survival and reproduction of uninfected and-infected . We observed that had a variable effect on survival and reproduction. There were negligible differences between treatments in juveniles. Infected adult females tended to live longer and produce more eggs. However, no effect was consistent, and infected bugs showed more variation in survival and reproduction metrics than control bugs. We did not observe any negative effects of infection on survival or reproduction, suggesting that decreased fitness in-infected is not why bed bugs have not been observed to transmit in natural settings.

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The mental health impact of bed bug infestations: a scoping review

Abstract: Although significant mental health effects are often linked to bed bugs, such discussions remain largely anecdotal. Despite recognition that the impact of bed bugs constitutes an important public health concern, little empirical evidence currently exists on this topic.

Cited by 45 publications

References 46 publications

Pest Management Strategies for Bed Bugs (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) in Multiunit Housing: A Literature Review on Field Studies

Pest Management Strategies for Bed Bugs (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) in Multiunit Housing: A Literature Review on Field Studies

The social impacts of bedbug infestation as an emerging public health issue: a case report

Trypanosoma cruzi Infection Does Not Decrease Survival or Reproduction of the Common Bed Bug, Cimex lectularius

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