Letter to the Editor

Rapid Rise in Bed Bug Populations: The Need to Include Them in the Differential Diagnosis of Mysterious Skin Rashes

Authors: Jerome Goddard, PhD, Richard de Shazo, MD

Abstract

To the Editor:


Bed bugs, Cimex lectularius, had nearly disappeared in developed countries for almost half a century until a recent dramatic increase in bed bug numbers, geographic distribution, and biting incidence.1–3 The bugs are increasingly common inside hotel rooms, dormitories, and apartments in the United States and elsewhere. International travel, immigration, changes in pest control practices, and insecticide resistance may have contributed to this resurgence.4

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References

1.Cooper R, Harlan HJ. Ectoparasites, part III: bed bugs and kissing bugs, in Moreland D, Hedges SA (eds): The Mallis Handbook of Pest Control. Cleveland, OH, GIE Media, 2004, ed 9, pp 494–529.
 
2.Hwang SW, Svoboda TJ, De Jong IJ, et al. Bed bug infestations in an urban environment. Emer Inf Dis 2005;11:533–538.
 
3.Potter MF. The perfect storm: an extension view on bed bugs. Am Entomol 2006;52:102–104.
 
4.Romero A, Potter MF, Potter DA, et al. Insecticide resistance in the bed bug: a factor in the pest’s sudden resurgence? J Med Entomol 2007;4:175–178.
 
5.Ryckman RE. Host reactions to bug bites (hemiptera, homoptera): a literature review and annotated bibliography, part I. California Vect Views 1979;26:1–24.