Bedbug epidemic spreads across Spain

Madrid city hall has received a surge in calls from residents requesting the collection of contaminated mattresses.

We had to stand guard for two hours over the mattresses when they were in the street, said one resident who suffered a recent infestation. People kept trying to take away the mattresses even though we had labeled them as containing bedbugs, she said.

Madrids public health department has denied that there is a public health problem but admitted that bedbug infestations have been reported in several buildings in Lavapies, one of the capitals more multicultural districts.

A recent report by Madrid City Hall said the prevalence of bedbugs in some parts of the city had reached near epidemic proportions.

There has been a 70 per cent increase in pest control services, said Milagros Fernandez de Lezeta, director of Spains Pest Control Association, who warned that bedbug infestations are very difficult to control and spread very easily.

Bedbugs, which bite humans and suck their blood, were considered virtually extinct in western Europe for at least fifty years. Their reappearance across Spain over the last ten years has been blamed on the increase in mass tourism.

They can occur anywhere, even the most luxurious hotel, said Ms Fernandez de Lezeta. Their presence is not linked to poor sanitary conditions but to the movement of people.

The pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, which attracts more than 100,000 faithful each year, has in recent years had to tackle outbreaks of bedbugs at hostels along the route.

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Bedbug epidemic spreads across Spain