Hong Kong authorities will carry out inspections at the airport and give advice about how to stop bedbugs. They said people should not worry that travellers will bring bedbugs from South Korea to Hong Kong.
On November 8, Libby Lee Ha-yun, the undersecretary for health, said the government insisted these pests posed little danger. “Bedbugs have no major impacts on people’s health … This is a sanitation issue which needs to be tackled,” she said.
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said that it had increased education about bedbugs at the airport and reminded airlines and the Airport Authority to pay attention to the cleanliness of aircraft and airports.
Bedbugs are small insects, and they drink the blood of warm-blooded animals, such as humans. They usually move from one location to another such as furniture, beds, clothes and baggage.
Chan Wai-keung is the vice-president of the Pest Control Personnel Association of Hong Kong. He said a possible bedbug invasion in Hong Kong’s public transport was unlikely.
He said, “In Hong Kong, there have been no bedbug outbreaks in public transport where pest control is conducted regularly. If it is done properly, there is no chance of infestation.”
Quiz time
-
What are bedbugs?
-
Are bedbugs dangerous to human health?
-
How do bedbugs spread?
-
Why does Chan Wai-keung think it is not likely for a bedbug outbreak to happen on Hong Kong’s public transport?
