There has been a major increase in bed bug incidence in North America and Europe in recent years and aside from being an extreme nuisance and the destroyer of property and sanity of many lives, now bed bugs carrying two types of drug-resistant bacteria have been found by Canadian researchers.
The bed bugs were found to be carrying methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE).
Further studies are needed to characterize the association between S. aureus and bed bugs. Bed bug carriage of MRSA, and the portal of entry provided through feeding, suggests a plausible potential mechanism for passive transmission of bacteria during a blood meal. Because of the insect's ability to compromise the skin integrity of its host, and the propensity for S. aureus to invade damaged skin, bed bugs may serve to amplify MRSA infections in impoverished urban communities.
The phenotype of the MRSA found in the bed bugs is identical to that found in tests of many Eastside patients with MRSA infections according to the report.
These findings suggest that bed bugs may act as a "hidden environmental reservoir" that promotes the spread of MRSA in overcrowded and impoverished communities.
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