Amid the ongoing bedbug crisis in Paris, an expert has claimed the parasite could already be spreading in the UK.
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00:00 Harry Robertson still grapples with lingering trauma from his battle with bed bugs.
00:06 He spent over a year fearing bedtime, isolating himself from close friends and family.
00:11 When you're sharing a flat in London, your bedroom is often the thing that is your little oasis of calm
00:16 and that's something that you're essentially scared to go back to
00:20 because you go back, you get in bed and you start itching.
00:24 These tiny parasites live in upholstery and soft furnishings.
00:28 They feed on you while you sleep, leaving behind itchy red marks.
00:33 You throw the bed clothes off and you look down and there's little specks of blood
00:37 and eventually you'll fall asleep, you'll get two or three hours of sleep,
00:40 you'll wake up the next morning and you'll be covered in bites.
00:43 Chemical treatments are losing their effectiveness as bed bugs develop resistance.
00:48 We tried chemicals and it never ever got rid of them.
00:51 We moved out, I burnt a large quantity of my bed linen, I threw away quite a few of my clothes.
00:57 While Paris is facing a bed bug epidemic causing considerable alarm,
01:02 experts suggest the insects could already be hitching a ride on the Eurostar to London.
01:07 Eurostar says it's taking swift action to prevent Parisian bed bugs travelling on trains.
01:13 The disturbing reports have raised the alarm, prompting Eurostar to intensify cleaning efforts across its network.
01:19 Passengers can now expect preventative treatments to ensure bed bug-free journeys,
01:23 including hot water being used to clean upholstery and the option for additional disinfection upon request.
01:30 But David Kane, a molecular biologist and bed bug pest control expert,
01:35 says he's already traced bed bugs found in London to Paris.
01:39 Low and behold, the person had bed bugs for approximately one week
01:44 and they'd been on the Eurostar a week before, so we've already traced it to highly likely to be there.
01:50 Could London face a similar fate?
01:53 The problem is, because we're British, it's all stiff upper lip, we don't want to talk about bed bugs.
01:58 I heard the statistic quoted of one in ten homes in Paris in the last two years.
02:04 I would say it's probably closer to one in five homes in London over the last four or five years.
02:12 For those who've come into contact with bed bugs, vigilance is essential.
02:16 For Harry, the anxiety persists.
02:19 Paranoia basically never goes away.
02:21 It's really, really grim to see it be something that could be on the rise in London again.
02:26 A Parisian parasite problem that could be secretly plaguing London too.
02:31 Luke Hanrahan, Euronews, London.
02:35 .
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