Menu

Alpha Ecological Pest Control Company

Green Approach Pest Control +254720 -038-791

Review us on BusinessList.co.ke

The Right way to Keep Pest Outside

APC Adopt a consultative approach to customer needs, we propose solutions based on the situation at the local level rather than taking a "single solution suits all" approach. Commercial pest control is a science; we identify solutions based on our knowledge of insect and animal species, behavioural patterns, infestation rates, natural predators and likely recurrence levels. APC can offer Pest Control needs and tailored solutions across a wide range of sectors including: Food Production, Food Retail, Logistics and Transportation, Commercial, Leisure, Industrial, High Street Retail all within Nairobi and the neighboring Counties.
 

Researchers Find Bed Bugs Could Carry A Deadly Disease

BED BUG
 
 
 

As bed bug infestations have continued to crop up in firehouses, schools, movie theaters and homes across the country, a team of researchers is now warning that these proliferating pests could prove to be more than just an itchy, pricey nuisance.
According to a new study published on Monday, bed bugs are capable of transmitting a parasite that causes Chagas disease, an infection that in some cases can lead to cardiac or intestinal complications. The infection is found most commonly in Mexico, Central American and South America, but has been increasing its foothold in the U.S.
"There are a lot of people with Chagas disease, and a lot of bed bugs. They are in our houses, in our beds -- and in high numbers," said Michael Levy, a researcher at University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine and senior author on the new paper.
"But no one seems worried," he added. "We always hear that the bugs don't seem to be carrying anything."
On their website, after lamenting that bed bugs "are resurging, causing property loss, expense, and inconvenience," the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention goes on to offer some "good news" -- "Bed bugs do not transmit disease." The CDC declined to comment on the new study, which details a series of experiments that suggests bed bugs and mice are capable of transmitting Chagas disease to one another.
Levy emphasized that the research does not prove bed bugs are actually transmitting Chagas to humans. Other researchers underscored the same point. Richard Pollack, a public health entomologist and instructor at Harvard University, said the work is "compelling," but remains hesitant to call bed bugs a vector of the disease.
"The bigger issue is the incredibly exaggerated response to bed bugs both in terms of financial outlay, misuse of pesticides and emotional baggage," said Pollack. "So many people have become so fearful of bed bugs and, sadly, they're going to suffer when they hear the results of this paper." He recommended that anyone concerned about an infestation should contact a local pest control professional.

Michael Levy has studied Chagas disease for the past 10 years, and now believes bed bugs could play a role. (Penn Medicine/Robert Press)

Melissa Nolan Garcia, a Chagas expert at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, believes the triatomine insect -- more commonly known as the "kissing bug" -- remains the most worrisome carrier of Chagas. The blood-suckers get their name from their tendency to bite people around the mouth, usually at night. As a result, the bug's feces can make its way into the victim, often escorting the parasite that causes Chagas.
Nolan Garcia added that there is "strong evidence" that the total number of Chagas infections in  the U.S. exceeds the CDC's current estimate of 300,000. That figure is based on immigrants from Latin America, where the disease is endemic. Nolan suggested many more cases have likely been acquired in the U.S., beginning with the first known locally acquired Chagas infection in 1955. In early November, after presenting her findings on the threat of Chagas in the U.S., Nolan Garcia recalled someone raising to her the possibility of bed bugs, too, spreading the disease. The next morning, she awoke to bed bug bites in her New Orleans hotel room.
Nolan Garcia said she is not discounting the possibility suggested by the new study. "It wouldn't surprise me that another insect could carry it as well," she said.
The bed bug shares much in common with its cousin, the kissing bug, and had already been a suspected player in Chagas disease. By tediously squeezing poo out of bed bugs with tweezers, Levy's team found that the parasite replicated well in the gut of bed bugs. Further, they showed that the insect frequently defecates near where it eats, and that mice can contract Chagas if contaminated bed bug feces come into contact with their bitten, broken skin.
Levy suggested that, compared to the kissing bug, the bed bug may have more frequent contact with humans and could prove harder to kill due to resistance to common insecticides. "If they do transmit Chagas, they may be more dangerous than kissing bugs," he said.
"Never before have there been so many bed bugs and so many people with [Chagas] infection in such close contact," added Levy. "As we've seen over and over again in bug-borne diseases, the bugs spread first and then the parasite comes, and then the parasite emerges in the bugs."Levy said that has been the timeline for many Chagas epidemics in Latin America, where an estimated 8 million people are currently infected with Chagas and approximately 50,000 die each year, usually from the toll the disease takes on the heart.
The bottom line, Nolan Garcia said, is that more needs to be learned about both the disease and its carriers. Because Chagas often doesn't present obvious symptoms -- sometimes for decades after infection -- and given that screening typically occurs when people donate blood, she noted, it's difficult to get an accurate count of or adequate medical care for victims. Treatment does exist, but is generally effective only when taken early in the course of the disease.

Go Back

Comment

Pest Control Services in Nairobi

Cockroach Elimination in Homes and Apartments

Cockroach Elimination in Homes and Apart…

Read more

TERMITES CONTROL AND EXTERMINATION SERVICES IN NAIROBI

 

Professional Termite Control Metho…

Read more

COCROACHES FUMIGATION SERVICES IN NAIROBI

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Roaches ar…

Read more

How is Climate Change Affecting Pest Control

Climate change is a challenging issue th…

Read more

Keep Pests Out of Apartments - Alpha Ecological Pest Control

For those who live in apartments, pest c…

Read more

Are Cockroaches Dangerous? FAQs about the Dangers of Roaches - Alpha Ecological Pest Control

✔️ Get the Best Cockroaches Cont…

Read more

Control Cockroaches In Residentials and offices

Most people are very intolerant of cockr…

Read more

Homeowners and Tenant

When your home is infested with bed bugs…

Read more

Bed bugs Control in Nairobi,Kenya

They Crawl, They Bite, They Baffle Scien…

Read more

Researchers Find Bed Bugs Could Carry A Deadly Disease

BED BUG
 
 
 

As bed bug inf…

Read more

Buying used furniture? Here’s how to check used furniture for bed bug

Mattresses bed bugsIn today’s economy, everyone wants to sa…

Read more

5 Common Bloodsucking Pests

mosquito on leaf

tick on skin

We live in a world full of b…

Read more

Termites

 

Conehead Termites

Conehead …

Read more

5 Things Your Pest Control Technician Wants You to Understand

 5 Things Your Pest Control Technician …

Read more

The Most Effective Bed bug Control Methods( Heat Treatment)

 bed bug on skin

Bed bugs can be horrible if they g…

Read more

Health Checks - Rodent Infestations

Rodent infestations in the home can have…

Read more

How to Pest-Proof Your Attic & Basement

Many people are anxious about encounteri…

Read more

Get Rid of Mosquitoes

Get Rid Of Mosquitoes “Worried about…

Read more

What You Don't Know About Squirrels

You know those furry little creatures th…

Read more

Summer Pest Prevention

By Fredrick Kanga

Saturday , August …

Read more

8 Interesting Facts About Ants

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

 

 

Th…

Read more

BROWN RECLUSE SPIDER

 

I sometimes get asked how dangerou…

Read more

PAVEMENT ANTS

 

Ants are getting busy! As the weat…

Read more

Bed bugs and eggs on bed frame.

These pictures from AEPC Contro…

Read more

Bed Bugs Playing Hide-and-Seek in Used Items

There have been multiple news stories …

Read more

Integrated Pest Management

Read more

Termites are Swarming! Termite!

Read more

Quick Questions About Professional Lawn Care Programs with Billy Marett

Read more

Five Little-Known Facts about Dragonflies

Orthetrum pruinosum, Dragonfly from Wayanad Kerala Dragonfly from Wayanad Kerala (Photo cr…

Read more

The Crazy Rasberry Ant: What Is It and How Can You Control It?

Yellow crazy ant Yellow Crazy Ant (Photo credit: John Ta…

Read more

The Top Five Nutritious Foods to Feed Your Lizard

Lizard Lizard (Photo credit: TCL 1961)
Lizard…

Read more

Are Cats Invading Your Home?

Cat Cat (Photo credit: @Doug88888)
Feline …

Read more

Pests Hiding in the Christmas Tree

Read more

The Buzz on Mosquito Prevention

Read more

pest samples

http://ampest.typepad.com/.a/6a012875a9fd84970c017616599c90970c-pi

One of our clients asked us some tim…

Read more

Why are schools are such a hot spot for bed bugs

The reason schools are such a hot spot f…

Read more

Total Termite Protection