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Are BB's another "hygiene hypothesis" curse?
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bedwarrior
newbite
Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 34
Posted 1 month ago
Thu Oct 15 2009 20:25:34
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I am a strong believer in the hygiene hypothesis as a necessary complement, though not complete replacement, for the germ theory of disease. That is, I believe that many human diseases today are a product of specific deficiencies in infections common in developing countries but now unheard of in the West, and that the lack of exposure to parasites that have evolved as symbiants with humans for millions of years, help predispose Western industrial countries (as well as the elites in developing countries) to auto-immune diseases and allergies in particular.
It seems to me from anecdotal evidence that the recent epidemic of BB infestations seems to not be the case in the developing world as much as it is in the West, and BB infestations seem quite common in otherwise meticulously clean households and hotels. Does anyone know of research suggesting that common bacteria and microscopic parasites common in the developing world harms one or more of the life stages of BB's, with their absence in the West perhaps helping explain the current explosion of activity? It would be great if we could wipe out BB's with some sort of parasite harmless to humans. (Bring on the micro-spiders? lol)
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Bed bugs are a problem all over the world right now.
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cilecto
senior member
Joined: Aug '08
Posts: 516
Posted 1 month ago
Sun Oct 18 2009 11:40:03
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In reports about BB, you occasionally see the note about the move from general spraying for household pests to "baiting" (i.e., "Combat" traps or "Maxforce" gels. We might have developed treatments that are so good vs. roaches, ants, etc. that they upset the insect ecosystem in favor of BB. Add to that all sorts of factors to promote spread and we have a problem.
(Of course, usually, you hear the "DDT" element touted. It seems that some people have "adopted" the bedbug as proof that DDT should never have been banned and to delegitimize the "green" movement in general. So, the bedbug, which reappeared, twenty, again TWENTY years after the phase-out of DDT and that we had, and still have the means to combat, if we care to focus trumps extinction of bird species and the damage that comes with that?)
That said, I wonder to what extent there are or will be marked differences in how the "wealthiest" vs. "less-wealthy" populations deal with BB. At least in the USA (where we have a sense of entitlement and drive polished military vehicles to pick up milk), the curremt point of view seems to be:
- BB are an anomaly.
- Most people don't have BB
- Some people do. They alone are responsible for ridding their homes from the BB.
- BB control is like a fire. A sudden catastrophe that needs to be mobilized against, fought, and hopefully not repeated. This means washing and bagging, tenting and gassing, ducting and heating and whatever comes next...I wonder (emphasis on "wonder", I don't know for a fact) if the "less wealthy populations" see (or will come to see) BB as "another nuisance that's to be lived with (in the same vein as sporadic electricity, limited hour hot water, etc.):
- BBs are here, period.
- Everyone has BB, some more, some less.
- Everyone is expected to include BB control into their homes as part of regular maintenance. Use the techniques and chemicals that are available. If they don't work, use more of them).
- Any place I go, anything I buy and anyone I encounter may have expose me to BB. I may bring them home, they'll be taken care of as part of "my" routine.
(BTW, I'm a little biased toward the notion that the "latter" approach to BB will ultimately need to win out.)I'm wondering if the "more wealthy populations" are in a tizzy over BB because their lifestyles have left them unprepared to deal with an unexpected pest.
I'm wondering if we mix these two populations (and we are, whether through travel, labor migration or the production of good by one for the consumption of the other) without the "wealthy" population being prepared, we get ourselves in the "pickle" that we're in. (Unlike some people, I'd prefer not to build walls between people. I'd prefer that all people be aware of how "flat" the world can be and that we may need to be prepared to deal with it in a more "holistic" way).
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Bed bugs are a problem in the developing world. Its like the assumption that people in malarial countries are immune to that, and to the other diseases we routinely get vaccinated against: in most cases they aren't, they are susceptible too but don't have the money for vaccinations and so just suffer along. Bedbugs in slums are a huge, huge problem, but what is anyone living there going to do about it? You hear about infestations in New York, London, etc, because the people there have the means to do something about it: in the developing world they just suffer in silence (or if they're an ex-pat living in the developing world like me they get on an internet forum and start going a bit crazy about it!)
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