Bedbugs may be making a comeback, according to a letter to the British Medical Journal (2000;320:1141). Four separate infestations were reported to the Brighton Public Health Laboratory Service in 1999. This compares with one infestation in 1998 and none during the previous three years, the authors say.
Bedbugs are round, flat and "resemble lentils". They may be the explanation for nocturnally acquired bites or itchy rashes that have no other obvious cause. Applying insecticides to the bugs' daytime hiding places eliminates the problem, the authors say.