Cameroonian Health Officials Sound Alarm on Bedbug Infestations

Cameroon officials said they will disinfect airports and goods imported from Europe if reports about bedbugs being found in them are investigated and found true

By Boris Esono Nwenfor

BUEA, December 15, 2023 – Kuffo Merilyne, a fruit seller lives in the Madagascar neighbourhood in Cameroon’s political capital Yaoundé. She said she first used insecticides to get rid of the bugs in her home, thinking they were little cockroaches. She was, however, surprised when three of her children developed insomnia and experienced irritation after they were bitten by the insects.

Like Merilyne, several inhabitants in Yaounde have reported huge numbers of bedbug infestations in their homes and neighbourhoods. Cameroon’s Ministry of Health said the bedbugs feed on human blood and often cause psychological distress, sleeping issues, anxiety and depression and mostly come out at night.

Bedbugs are wingless obligate ectoparasites from the insect family Cimicidae, which feed on mammals and birds. Bedbugs can tolerate a wide range of temperatures and their reproductive cycle is rapid (each female produces 5–8 eggs/week for 18 weeks). They remain hidden in crevices and furnishings and emerge only to feed on their host, and after feeding, they defecate and leave behind dark brown spots that are typical signs of bedbug infestation.

Health workers in Yaoundé have thus begun disinfecting homes after a bedbug infestation has gripped the political capital and some towns in the Central African nations. Government officials have noted that the bedbugs were imported by travellers from Europe. Several health and sanitary workers have been dispatched to disinfect homes and other areas.

Mariline Longue, a medical staff at the Cite Verte District Hospital in Yaounde said more than 70 per cent of people in some neighborhoods have reported bedbugs in their homes and shops. 24 of the 30 houses Longue and her team visited had huge numbers of bedbugs hidden in mattresses, cracks in bed frames, chairs and couches.

The government said besides Yaoundé and the economic hub Douala, there are fears several other towns and villages have been infested. Marital Ayissi, a sanitation officer with the Yaoundé City Council, said the bugs are coming from European countries, reports VOA.

Ayissi said it is unfortunate government officials did not take measures to protect borders when the Cameroon National Hygiene and Sanitation Association raised an alarm in September that people were coming in from Europe with bedbugs in their luggage. He said many secondhand goods including mattresses, blankets and dresses that are imported by merchants from France in particular and sold in Cameroon have huge numbers of bedbugs hidden in them.

Cameroon officials said they will disinfect airports and goods imported from Europe if reports about bedbugs being found in them are investigated and found true. In September, France announced that travelers were posting photos and videos purportedly showing bedbugs in Paris’ local transport system, high-speed trains and at Charles de Gaulle airport, provoking a wave of panic.

The French government in October said there was no evidence of any resurgence of the biting irritants on public transport, but it did not dismiss reports the insects were found in some homes