Parents on alert after bed bugs found in Revere schools
REVERE - Parents in Revere on alert after students contracted bed bug bites. The Revere school superintendent sent parents a notice saying there have been a handful of cases over the last two weeks where either bed bugs, or bed bug bites have been confirmed on students.
Some were at the high school and others at the Paul Revere Innovation School, which is grades K-5. The notice says the classrooms where these students were, and the adjacent classrooms, have already been treated by a professional pest control company, which was recommended by the Revere Board of Health.
The schools are asking parents to check their children's clothing and backpacks to make sure that bed bugs aren't being transported to the classroom inside them.
Experts say bed bugs are a nuisance insect, but their bites do not spread disease. When bed bugs move from one person to another, they usually do so by clinging to fabric. They cannot jump, only crawl, so person to person transfers, while not impossible, are rare.
One expert says that a little common sense and calmer heads will keep this from becoming a bigger problem in Revere schools.
"People should tone it down a little bit," said Rick Pollack, a public health entomologist. "These things are out there; most people will never see a bed bug in their life. What's the big deal? If a bed bug gets into a school, it's probably not going to survive. If it does, it's not likely to become a big problem. Bed bugs don't transmit anything, except perhaps hysteria."
Parents of the children who have been bitten have been urged to have their homes professionally cleaned.
