Why Are So Many Paramedics Finding Bedbug infestations?
Why Are So Many Paramedics Finding Bedbug infestations?
It is no secret that bedbugs are becoming more and more problematic for all people around the world. Many people over the age of forty can remember a time when bedbugs were not an issue at all. Hopefully, at some point in the future bedbugs will cease to be a problem. Most bug pests are at least beneficial in some ways. Termites, for instance, aerate soil and remove dead organic waste from the environment. But bedbugs do not seem beneficial on any level. Bedbugs would not be missed if they were to become extinct. Now some professionals are seeing bedbugs regularly, and these professionals are not exterminators. As it turns out, some paramedics and other EMT workers are seeing bedbug infestations on a normal basis. Bedbugs have even managed to infest ambulances. But why?
Most of you can probably guess why EMT workers come into contact with bedbugs more so than most other groups of professionals. EMT workers often venture into many different homes in order to tend to medical emergencies. Since bedbug populations are increasing, homes that are visited by EMT staff are sometimes infested with bedbugs. These bedbugs can find their way into ambulances by hitching rides on EMT professionals themselves. A more likely scenario has bedbugs being transported to ambulances by medically compromised individuals who live in bedbug infested homes. These individuals likely have bedbugs present on the clothes they are wearing. Once they are brought to an ambulance, bedbugs can easily infest certain areas of the vehicle. Also, bedbugs can reach an ambulance via the medical equipment used by EMT workers.
Calhoun County paramedics in South Carolina recently discovered bedbugs in an ambulance. It turned out that a patient who was brought into the hospital had an infestation of bedbugs within his home. According to Crystal Youmans, Assistant EMS Director for Calhoun County, bedbugs are becoming a problem for EMS workers all over the United States. Calhoun County paramedics are now limiting the amount of medical equipment that they bring into homes. Youmans believes this measure will reduce the likelihood of bedbug infestations within ambulances and other locations.
Do you think that bedbug populations will continue to grow?
