Will Paris bedbugs travel to the UK? What you need to know about limiting the spread

Amid the ongoing bedbug crisis in Paris, an expert has claimed the parasite could already be spreading in the UK.

Transcript

00:00 Harry Robertson still grapples with lingering trauma from his battle with bed bugs.

00:06 He spent over a year fearing bedtime, isolating himself from close friends and family.

00:11 When you're sharing a flat in London, your bedroom is often the thing that is your little oasis of calm

00:16 and that's something that you're essentially scared to go back to

00:20 because you go back, you get in bed and you start itching.

00:24 These tiny parasites live in upholstery and soft furnishings.

00:28 They feed on you while you sleep, leaving behind itchy red marks.

00:33 You throw the bed clothes off and you look down and there's little specks of blood

00:37 and eventually you'll fall asleep, you'll get two or three hours of sleep,

00:40 you'll wake up the next morning and you'll be covered in bites.

00:43 Chemical treatments are losing their effectiveness as bed bugs develop resistance.

00:48 We tried chemicals and it never ever got rid of them.

00:51 We moved out, I burnt a large quantity of my bed linen, I threw away quite a few of my clothes.

00:57 While Paris is facing a bed bug epidemic causing considerable alarm,

01:02 experts suggest the insects could already be hitching a ride on the Eurostar to London.

01:07 Eurostar says it's taking swift action to prevent Parisian bed bugs travelling on trains.

01:13 The disturbing reports have raised the alarm, prompting Eurostar to intensify cleaning efforts across its network.

01:19 Passengers can now expect preventative treatments to ensure bed bug-free journeys,

01:23 including hot water being used to clean upholstery and the option for additional disinfection upon request.

01:30 But David Kane, a molecular biologist and bed bug pest control expert,

01:35 says he's already traced bed bugs found in London to Paris.

01:39 Low and behold, the person had bed bugs for approximately one week

01:44 and they'd been on the Eurostar a week before, so we've already traced it to highly likely to be there.

01:50 Could London face a similar fate?

01:53 The problem is, because we're British, it's all stiff upper lip, we don't want to talk about bed bugs.

01:58 I heard the statistic quoted of one in ten homes in Paris in the last two years.

02:04 I would say it's probably closer to one in five homes in London over the last four or five years.

02:12 For those who've come into contact with bed bugs, vigilance is essential.

02:16 For Harry, the anxiety persists.

02:19 Paranoia basically never goes away.

02:21 It's really, really grim to see it be something that could be on the rise in London again.

02:26 A Parisian parasite problem that could be secretly plaguing London too.

02:31 Luke Hanrahan, Euronews, London.

02:35 .

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