Gov't opens bulletin board to monitor bedbug infestations in real time

Aresearch team led by Kim Ju-hyeon, a professor at Seoul National University’s Department of Tropical Medicine, has submitted a paper on using imidacloprid and fipronil to kill bedbugs.

Guro District Office employees sweep a hotel in its district for bedbugs. Since Oct. 5 there have been 17 bedbugs reported. For nearly a decade there have been only nine. [YONHAP]

The government opened a nationwide bulletin board that monitors the bedbug situation in real time Tuesday.

The goal is to collect information from different local governments to assess bedbug infestations precisely and counter them swiftly and efficiently.

According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the joint government headquarters collects data on bedbug reports from all 17 provincial and metropolitan city governments.

The government launched Friday a joint group composed of personnel from 10 agencies, including the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the Health Ministry, the Environment Ministry and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

Since last month, reports of bedbugs have been rising alarmingly.

For nearly a decade since 2014, bedbugs were reported only nine times.

However, there have been 17 bedbug sightings since Oct. 5.

The government speculates that unreported bedbug cases could be higher as many households exterminate the bedbugs independently.

Some businesses are believed to be reluctant to report bedbugs to the authorities for fear of driving customers away.

For the same reason, the government’s status report on bedbug infestations will not be available to the public.

Authorities said they will disclose infestations only when necessary.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency is reviewing a new insecticide as pyrethroid repellents proved ineffective.

A study by a research team at Seoul National University published in April found that bedbugs have already developed a strong immunity against pyrethroid insecticide.

The study said that because bedbugs have evolved to become resistant to repellents, they can survive even if dumped in a jar filled with pyrethroid insecticide.

The disease control agency announced Monday that it is considering an alternative insecticide currently used overseas.

The government initially issued a guideline for using pyrethroid insecticides to exterminate the bugs.

Meanwhile, a research team led by Kim Ju-hyeon, a professor at Seoul National University’s Department of Tropical Medicine, has submitted a paper on using imidacloprid and fipronil to kill bedbugs to a U.S. entomology society, according to a report by the JoongAng Ilbo.

Imidacloprid and fipronil are substances already approved by the Korean government.

Imidacloprid is used as a pesticide for plants, while fipronil is a vermifuge applied on pets’ fur.

“Our research has found them to be the most effective non-pyrethroids,” Professor Kim told the JoongAng Ilbo. “They could be immediately used once the quantity and the procedure in using the insecticides are decided as the Environment Ministry has approved both.”

“We will quickly review the amount and the safe use of the insecticides by considering SNU’s research results and the actual use in the U.S. so that the alternative insecticides can be used in exterminating bedbugs,” said Park Kyung-hwa, head of the Chemical Research Division at the National Institute of Environmental Research.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]