Study: Some Bedbugs Carry MRSA
May 11, 2011, 5:13 PM
If bedbugs aren't disgusting enough, now a new study shows they can carry drug-resistant bacteria.
They're about the size of an apple seed, they hide in small crevices of your home and they bite. And now a new study shows bedbugs can also carry "superbug bacteria" like MRSA.
Five bacteria-infected bedbugs were found in Canada in a poor community where the bugs and MRSA are on the rise. MRSA infections start off on the skin but can be deadly if they get into the bloodstream. The findings raise a bigger question that many have been asking, can bedbugs actually spread disease in humans the way mosquitoes and ticks do?
"They're a bother, but they're not known to transmit any infections so this raises some interesting and provocative questions," Dr. William Schaffner said.
It's not clear how the bedbugs in the study got the bacteria. Scientists say it may have come from biting infected humans.
Last summer the tiny bugs took a big bite out of many cities across the country, even shutting down clothing stores, movie theatres and hotels. But experts say we're in for round two. That's because the insects thrive as the weather warms up.
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