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News of the Day ... In Perspective12/05/2005New York hotel sued over bedbug bites Two Swiss women have filed a lawsuit for damages owing to physical pain, mental anguish, emotional distress, and lost earnings after they were bitten repeatedly by bedbugs during a week�s stay in one of New York�s largest hotels. The prominent hotel, which was not named in the wire report, is said to be across from Madison Square Garden (Ariz Daily Star 12/3/05). Bedbugs are wingless, reddish-brown insects about one-fourth inch long. Their bites typically cause a linear pattern of welts called the �breakfast, lunch, and dinner sign.� They have been known to transmit hepatitis b and American trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease). Virtually eradicated by DDT before it was banned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1972, bedbugs are coming back, causing enormous problems for high-end hotels. Hotel infestations increased by 300% between 2000 and 2001, and are continuing to rise. The bugs can survive a full year without a blood meal and are extremely difficult to eradicate. Additional information: �DDT: A Case Study in Scientific Fraud� by J. Gordon Edwards, Ph.D., J Am Phys Surg, Fall 2004. �If They Can Ban DDT, They Can Ban Anything� and �Insect Pests Making a Comeback,� Doctors for Disaster Preparedness Newsletter, November 2004.
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