Fiorito: Bedbugs can be beaten

     Bedbugs, many believe they are only a story that parents tell young children before tucking them in for the night. I truth is bed bugs are actually small insects that live in the beds of almost every person on the earth, and cause widespread rashes and even illnesses to the people sleeping in those beds. They have plagued the people since the introduction of mattresses because they can thrive on the bacteria in them. A recent outbreak in a number of old age homes and apartment buildings are causing many people to attempt to find a cure for the bedbugs. Several boards of health have become recently concerned with these sudden outbreaks. One who lived in an apartment building of off Yonge Street showed just how damaging bedbugs can be. She showed us her arms and legs which had hundreds of miniscule bite marks, causing her much discomfort. Several other women in this building have claimed to be bitten several times by these tiny insects. They said that their apartment building is now enacting an anti-bedbug program. This process consists of steaming the mattresses, filling in cracks in wall, washing all clothes, and vacuuming the rugs thoroughly. They said we now know how to beat the bug, its just a matter of consistently paying for these measures. Residents of these apartment buildings and many old age homes are demanding measures to be made so that this bed bug killing procedure can continue. This idea is also backed by the Ontario Ministry of Health; they said it could drop sickness rates down up to 9% from this increased cleanliness. These people have a very important issue that needs to be resolved.


             I found this article very interesting and relevant to St. Andrews College. We live in an environment that can be plagued with illnesses due to the interactive nature of the Andrean Society. At the school we look into every possible measure with regards to keeping all of the students healthy. If there is a new method that will ensure that no one will get a sickness we incorporate that into our life. This helps us fight off illnesses and when someone does get an illness they are treated immediately to limit the spread. This is very much the same as what is happening here. These people have no control over some of the aspects of the cleanliness of these buildings and are just looking to stay healthy. I believe all of the needs of these people must be met in order to maintain a fair society. We have given money for much less important things and shouldn't shy away when people really need it. If this system could be incorporated into many facilities such as this across the country Canada will become a much healthier country.