A bedbug infestation spreading from Paris to the rest of France has triggered deep Eurostar cleaning as people are asking themselves is it safe to travel on French trains and will the scourge cross the Channel?
As previously reported by Travel Tomorrow, French social media is rife with reports of bedbug sightings and bites on trains and buses in Paris, a train between the capital and Marseille, and on buses in Lyon.
Other places also seem to be playing unwitting host to the critters, with cinema goers also complaining of bites and encounters to make your skin crawl.
How bad is an infestation?
While bedbug bites are itchy, they are not dangerous to human health. They cause enough disgust and discomfort however to be undesirable. Unfortunately, they are increasingly resistant to pesticides, making them hard to get rid of.
The problem is causing enough public concern that Paris City Hall has demanded State intervention and Transport Minister Clément Beaune has been forced to reassure people. He met with transport authorities and groups this week and came out with figures of 10 traveller reports about bedbugs at Paris public transport operator RATP and 37 at rail operator SNCF in recent weeks.
According to Beaune, that means there is “no need for psychosis or fear” and “no outbreak of bedbugs in public transport” is happening. Nevertheless, a plan is in place to step up general health procedures and to combat bedbugs. Canine sniffer teams will be deployed and data will be published every three months. “When there is a problem, we deal with it, we won’t deny it,” said Beaune.
Total transparency will bring total confidence.
Clément Beaune, Transport Minister
Can bedbugs live on trains?
The short answer is yes. David Cain, a qualified microbiologist and founder behind Bed Bugs LTD told The Independent it was “possible the bugs could survive the journey underneath the Channel.”
Bedbugs are notoriously hard to kill because, scientists speculate, they are mutants with genetic material from other species. They also carry an armoury of over 400 types of bacteria that appears to play a protective role.
Is there any good news?
Eurostar has confirmed it is intensifying “preventative treatments” to prevent a Gallic bedbug migration to the UK. Calling insect presence “rare”, a Eurostar spokesperson specified that “textile surfaces on all of our trains are cleaned thoroughly on a regular basis and this involves hot-water injection and extraction cleaning, which has proven highly effective in eliminating bugs.
Any reports on hygiene matters are taken very seriously and our cleaning teams, in addition to the usual cleaning, will also disinfect a train on request or as soon as there is the slightest doubt.
a Eurostar spokesperson
Similarly, SNCF told France Inter it undertakes “regular thorough cleaning and anti-pest procedures, including using traps and insecticide in inaccessible areas” at 60-day intervals usually, but has quadrupled their frequency to tackle the current issue, and will take trains out of service to eradicate the problem if needed.
