Bedbugs in Toronto Hospitals

(Toronto, Ontario) People are scratching their heads, and maybe a few other places, regarding the reported bedbug infestation at Etobicoke General Hospital.

Staffers say that the bedbugs appear to be concentrated in the emergency room on the first floor.

Reg Ayre, a manager with Toronto Public Health, said this isn’t the first hospital in the city to get bedbugs: “This might be news to you guys, but it’s certainly not news to us.”

There has been a resurgence in bedbugs in Toronto since 2004-05, he explained, indicating that’s how long hospitals have been battling them. He wouldn’t say what other hospitals have had bugs, but noted that the facilities are able to get rid of them quickly.

“I wouldn’t say it has been a problem in hospitals because they deal so proactively with it. But they notice them from time to time,” he said.

Asked why the public isn’t notified when there’s a hospital infestation, Ayre said: “There is no law that requires notification. It doesn’t spread infectious diseases. How different is it to a black fly bite? Except that these things suck your blood and they are associated with where you live.

“It’s a nuisance pest and it can be really time-consuming and expensive to eliminate if you don’t get onto it very, very quickly.”

Since alerting the public of bedbug infestations isn't required, patients are kept unaware of the facilities with blood-sucking pests. But according to Mr. Ayre, Toronto hospitals in addition to Etobicoke have experienced bedbug problems at one time or another. Therefore, it might be best to just assume there is a bedbug problem when entering any Toronto hospital.