No sign of bed bugs infestation in the Netherlands after Paris outbreak panic

Reports of a bed bug outbreak in Paris have sparked concerns that trains and planes from France could spread the bugs across Europe. Eurostar and the NS are continuing ongoing measures to keep their train cars clean, continuing procedures that were already in place. Despite daily direct connections between Paris and cities in the Netherlands, there appears to be no sign of infestation in the Netherlands, both the Dutch public health institute RIVM and the Amsterdam branch of the GGD public health service told NL Times.

Bed bugs are tiny, flat, parasitic insects that feed primarily on human blood. They are reddish-brown and can be found in cracks and crevices around sleeping areas, particularly in beds. Their bites can cause itchy welts on the skin and may lead to secondary infections if scratched.

The tiny parasitic insects are a growing cause for concern in France over recent weeks. In Paris, in particular, there were reports of bed bugs in cinemas, hotels, airports and on trains. This week, the French government tried to calm growing public fears about a possible outbreak. Minister of Health and Prevention Aurélien Rousseau said there was “no reason for widespread panic” and that “we haven’t been invaded by bed bugs.”

Still, Jean-Michel Bérenger, an entomologist and France's leading expert on bed bugs, told the BBC that "every late summer we see a big increase in bedbugs. That is because people have been moving about over July and August, and they bring them back in their luggage."

Eurostar and NS trains cleaned as prevention

There are fears the transport system will enable the bugs to spread across neighbouring countries, as bedbugs can be found in places with a lot of travel. "This is how they are transported all over the world. Bedbugs can even travel with you in your laptop," explained expert Bastiaan Meerbrug to RTL News last week.

Eurostar trains travel from Paris to Amsterdam daily on a service known as the Thalys until recently. A spokesperson for Eurostar told NL Times that these bed bugs are rare “because the textile surface of all our trains is regularly and thoroughly cleaned.” During this cleaning, they use hot water through an injection and extraction method. “This method has been proven effective in removing bed bugs,” she added.

Across the entire train network of the Eurostar Group, there has not been a measurable increase in bed bugs observed on the trains. Since the beginning of 2023, only a few isolated cases have been recorded, the spokesperson stated. “These reports are always taken seriously, and our cleaning teams pay special attention to them. Besides the usual cleaning, the train is disinfected on request or whenever there is any doubt," she added.

NS spokesperson Carola Belderbos indicated that the NS cleaning crews working on international trains have not reported any incidents of bedbugs on trains. "Of course, we find it incredibly important that our trains are clean and safe for our passengers. We are always very vigilant about this and are well aware of the situation in France. If we were to find something like that, such a train would be immediately taken out of service,” she told the Harlems Dagblad this week.

A spokesperson for KLM also told NL Times on Friday that the airline has not seen any reports of bedbugs on flights to and from Paris.

Dutch health authorities monitoring the situation, but not yet concerned

Both the RIVM and the GGD have limited themselves to providing a list of recommendations on their websites. The GGD Amsterdam informed NL Times that they had not received more applications for the identification of bed bugs. When asked whether they were concerned that direct connections between Paris and Amsterdam could bring bed bugs to the Netherlands, a spokesperson said there was "no reason" to be concerned.

This week, the RIVM updated its website page about bed bugs to provide more information. “The last update was from 2018,” a spokesperson told NL Times. He noted that it was mostly journalists who were interested in this matter. He also admitted that it was difficult to say if there was an increase in the number of bed bugs in the Netherlands because there is currently no obligation to report such information. “It's not very clear,” he said.

On their website, the RIVM recommends that travellers inspect beds for small brown or red spots on mattresses and bedding and to keep suitcases away from beds, preferably in tiled areas like bathrooms.

Despite several reports about bed bugs in French public transport services having surfaced on social media, investigations have found no confirmed cases, asserted French Transport Minister Clement Beaune. "There's no sudden surge of bed bugs," he said on Wednesday, as reported by Le Monde.

Some experts are debating whether social media and journalists might exaggerate the issue.