PRODUCTION – 23 June 2021, Lower Saxony, Delmenhorst: A bedbug bites an arm. Bed bugs are not at all uncommon. The bloodsuckers are nocturnal and masters at hiding, but bed bug sniffing dogs detect the insects.
Revere Public Schools issued a warning about bed bugs to parents on Wednesday after the insects, or evidence of their bites, were found on students in three separate incidents over the last two weeks.
In a letter to the school community, Assistant Superintendent Richard Gallucci said that the district is working with the Revere Board of Health to respond to the issue. The classrooms where the bed bugs were found have been treated by pest control services.
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The letter did not specify what school buildings were involved.
Bed bugs do not transmit disease, but their bites can cause itching and a loss of sleep. Sometimes scratching from bed bugs can cause a secondary skin issue, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Parents are being asked to carefully check bags or backpacks that students to take school for any signs of bed bugs, as this is the most common way they spread in a school setting. They are wingless, reddish-brown in color, and roughly the size of Lincoln's head on a penny, the CDC says.
Reports of bed bugs have been on the rise, including concerns of infestations in Paris earlier this year, which gained international attention as the city prepares to host the Olympics.
For more information from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health on what to look for and how to handle bed bugs, click here.
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