Problems with the bedbug (Cimex lectularius) in Slovakia

Abstract

Introduction In the 1970s and 1980s, the occurrence of bedbugs ( Cimex lectularius Linnaeus, 1758) was noticed only sporadically in accommodation facilities in Slovakia. Under regular monitoring, it was possible to even eradicate its occurrence in the 1980s. Today, the problem is once again a major global health issue. Objective The aim of the study was to point out the occurrence of cimicosis in the case of atypical urticaria in patients referred to parasitological examination by inpatient and outpatient physicians. Material and methods During the period 2006–2015, 102 patients with suspected ectoparasitosis were examined in the Diagnostic Laboratory of Human Parasitology at the Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University in Bratislava. Specialists and general practitioners referred the patients with itching red efflorescences. Parasitological examination and entomologic analysis of insects confirmed in many of them the presence of skin ectoparasitosis caused by Cimex lectularius , and in one case Oeciacus hirundinis . Results A total number of 102 parasitologically patients were examined – 62 adults and 40 children. Among the 62 adults, there were 57 patients positive for cimicosis. In 5 patients cimicosis was not confirmed, in one of them ( Sarcoptes scabiei Linnaeus, 1758) was detected. Among the 40 children, there were 34 positive for cimicosis. One female child was diagnosed with lesions caused by Sarcoptes scabiei. Conclusions The bed bug should again be subjected to the reporting service to public health authorities, and thus recording the monitoring of its incidence and spread in the population.

Keywords

• prevention
• tourism
• ectoparasites
• Cimex lectularius
• cimicosis