Paris is suffering from bedbug invasion in serious public health issue

Paris is facing an invasion of bed bugs, with the insects being spotted widely throughout the city.

Reports of the pests started emerging in hotels and vacation rentals across Paris over the summer, and there have since been sightings in all manner of unexpected places, from movie theaters to the Paris Metro.

Passengers have been left horrified after spotting the insects on trains and metro carriages, and are always double checking their seats.

It seems they have gone even further afield than that though.

Some reports have emerged of the tenacious insects being spotted on a ferry from Marseilles to Tangiers in Morocco.

Things have gotten bad enough that port authorities in Tangiers put in place additional health monitoring measures to prevent bedbugs arriving into the country from France.

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Passengers on the ship from France had to wait onboard while the vessel and its cargo were cleaned and disinfected.

Bedbugs will commonly live in warm, secluded places with fabric, obviously including beds. They can also hide between floorboards, in electrical sockets, or even behind wallpaper in some cases.

Since the increased sightings, experts in France have emphasised that they are not a result of poor hygiene, but have a very high rate of reproduction.

So once they find somewhere they like, their population can explode.

The tiny parasites are visible to the human eye, and feed on human blood. Their bites can cause irritation, rashes, red spots, and increase the risk of a skin infection, as well as causing a loss of sleep from the itching.

Joel Carillet / Getty

Fortunately, bedbugs are not currently known to spread any infections through their bites.

Deputy Mayor of Paris Emmanuel Grégoire wrote to French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, saying: "Bedbugs are a public health issue and should be declared as such."

Grégoire also expressed concern over the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic games in 2024, which the French capital is set to host.

“The state urgently needs to put an action plan in place against this scourge as France is preparing to welcome the Olympic and Paralympic games in 2024,” he wrote.

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Meanwhile, transport minister Clément Beaune has announced that there will be a meeting with public transport operators this week as a way of 'reassuring and protecting' the public.

Over the summer Anses, France's national food, environment, and hygiene organisation, suggested two main culprits for the proliferation of bedbugs.

These are an increase in tourism, as well as the pests developing a greater resistance to insecticides.

If you spot bedbugs in your home, you should seal all the affected fabrics including clothes and bed linen in a bin bag.

This should be washed at a high temperature. If you have a tumble dryer, it can also be dried at a high temperature afterwards.

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