TY - JOUR
T1 - Sleeping with the Enemy
T2 - Everything You Need to Know about the Biology, Clinical Significance, and Laboratory Identification of Bed Bugs
AU - Mathison, Blaine A.
AU - Pritt, Bobbi S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2021/1/1
Y1 - 2021/1/1
N2 - The world has experienced a major global resurgence of bed bug infestations over the past 2 decades. While bed bugs do not serve as vectors of disease, their bites and household infestations result in significant psychological distress, clinical manifestations, and economic costs. Most human bed bug infestations are caused by the “common bed bug,” Cimex lectularius, or the “tropical bed bug,” C. hemipterus. Zoonotic cimicids also occasionally feed on humans. Bites are the most commonly reported manifestation of infestations, although findings may be subtle and overlooked for some time. The bugs can be submitted to the laboratory for identification, and therefore, clinical microbiologists should be familiar with their key identifying features and how they can be differentiated from similar-appearing arthropods. This review covers the biology and epidemiology of bed bugs; aspects of laboratory collection, identification, and reporting; and the clinical implications of bed bug infestations.
AB - The world has experienced a major global resurgence of bed bug infestations over the past 2 decades. While bed bugs do not serve as vectors of disease, their bites and household infestations result in significant psychological distress, clinical manifestations, and economic costs. Most human bed bug infestations are caused by the “common bed bug,” Cimex lectularius, or the “tropical bed bug,” C. hemipterus. Zoonotic cimicids also occasionally feed on humans. Bites are the most commonly reported manifestation of infestations, although findings may be subtle and overlooked for some time. The bugs can be submitted to the laboratory for identification, and therefore, clinical microbiologists should be familiar with their key identifying features and how they can be differentiated from similar-appearing arthropods. This review covers the biology and epidemiology of bed bugs; aspects of laboratory collection, identification, and reporting; and the clinical implications of bed bug infestations.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.clinmicnews.2020.12.004
DO - 10.1016/j.clinmicnews.2020.12.004
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85099072885
SN - 0196-4399
VL - 43
SP - 1
EP - 7
JO - Clinical Microbiology Newsletter
JF - Clinical Microbiology Newsletter
IS - 1
ER -