Revere’s schools report bed bug incidents

School officials in Revere are asking families to check their children’s backpacks for signs of bed bugs after the pests — or evidence of their bites — were found on a handful of students recently. 

In a letter to staff and families Wednesday, Assistant Superintendent Richard Gallucci said the district contacted the Revere Board of Health after finding bed bugs or bed bug bites on students in three separate incidents over the last two weeks. 

Gallucci didn’t say which schools were affected.

For all three incidents, “In addition to providing support for the student and their family, we professionally treated any classroom (and adjoining classrooms) where bed bugs were present,” Gallucci wrote. These treatments, he said, were in line with protocols from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Community Sanitation Program. 

According to the Department of Public Health, bed bugs do not transmit diseases. While the insects don’t fly, they can be transported by “hitchhiking” on personal belongings, the state agency explained. 

“Unfortunately, the prevalence of bed bugs in the hotel industry and in multi-unit housing across the United States has become much more common,” the Department of Public Health explains on its website. “Bed bugs are becoming an increasing problem in many cities and towns. This may be because more people are traveling out of the country to places where bed bugs are a problem.” 

In his letter, Gallucci referred Revere families to the DPH website for more tips on monitoring, preventing, and treating the spread of bed bugs. 

“We are asking that families closely monitor any bags or backpacks that your students take to school for the next several weeks to ensure that your student does not have any signs of bed bugs,” he added.

Abby Patkin

Staff Writer

Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between.

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