By THE OBSERVER UG
Cameroon is grappling with a bedbug infestation, prompting sanitation and health workers to disinfect homes in the capital, Yaounde, and various towns and villages across the central African state.
Government officials attribute the bloodsucking bugs to travelers from Europe, where some countries are also experiencing infestations. Anticipating assistance from the Central African state’s hygiene and sanitation service, residents are seeking relief from the troublesome insects.
Kuffo Marilyne, a fruit seller in Yaounde’s Madagascar neighborhood, initially used insecticides, mistaking the bugs for small cockroaches. However, her surprise grew when her children suffered from insomnia and irritation due to the bites. Bedbug bites, identified by health workers, leave blisters or large rashes on the skin.
Marilyne revealed that she sought medical care for her children, but many neighbors, also affected, lack the means for such assistance, highlighting the impact on impoverished communities.
The Cameroon government reports significant bedbug infestations in poor neighborhoods in Yaounde, causing psychological distress, sleep issues, anxiety, and depression. Hundreds of sanitation and health workers have been deployed to disinfect homes and eliminate the bugs to address the crisis.
Mariline Longue, a medical staff member at the Cite Verte District Hospital in Yaounde, disclosed that over 70% of people in some congested neighborhoods reported bedbug presence in their homes and shops. During inspections, it was found that numerous houses harbored large numbers of bedbugs in mattresses, bed frames, chairs, and couches.
Sanitation officer Marital Ayissi from the Yaounde City Council attributed the infestation to bugs arriving from European countries, especially in secondhand goods imported by merchants. These bugs, increasingly resistant to chemical treatments, were overlooked for over 20 years.
Rights groups and civil society activists have raised concerns about the potential spread of the insects to neighboring states like Chad and the Central African Republic, which rely on Cameroon for most of their goods. Cameroon officials pledge to disinfect airports and European-imported goods if investigations confirm reports of bedbugs.
In September, France acknowledged traveler-posted photos and videos depicting bedbugs in Paris’ local transport system, high-speed trains, and Charles de Gaulle airport. Despite the French government’s assertion that there is no evidence of a widespread resurgence, reports of the bugs in some homes were not dismissed.
Discussion about this post