In the News Today (29/9/2015) Analysis 1 (INTA): Unilag students shutdown varsity over bed bugs.

It was an attention grabbing headline today, the news concerning the student led protest in University of Lagos, Akoka. A well dressed man beside me in the bus today exclaimed "All these noise over just bugs?". Trust Nigerians, in seconds the bus was agog with discussions here and there. Here is my take:Bedbugs are small oval insects with regarded by the nerds (biological name) as CIMEX LECTULARIUS, picture as seen above. They are VESTIGIAL( can't fly) and they feed by sucking the blood of humans and animals. They prefer the face,necks,hands and arms. (One would think maybe they are the vampire clan of the insects.)The bone of contention for me lies here: BEDBUGS in RECENT TIMES have been used to CLASSIFY most BUGS found in beds, shirts etc. In simple terms just like there are other detergents, OMO is used to name all of them. (Which type of "OMO" did you buy?...answer: "I bought "KLIN" ") Others in these situation include FLEAS,TICKs,COCKROACHES etc.These could be found in wall cracks, textiles(clothes), beds and upholstered funitures. While some might be found in dirty or damp places, it is worthy of note that bed-bugs could even be found in very clean places. They could be found in Hotels, Hostels, Schools,Vehicles and many more, the keyword here is CONGREGRATION (where people are gathered).While others might be VECTORS (Carriers of harmful diseases), it is in rare cases that the bed_bug is a carrier and its still under research if its a carrier of the TRYPANOSOMIASIS (better knowns as CHAGAS DISEASE). Some things however are certain of their bites, this includes itching and sometimes allergic reactions which could lead to secondary bacterial infections.Symptoms of the presence of bed bugs in a room include fecal stains on surface, egg cases,dried skins on bed and sweet musky smells in the room.To get rid of bed-bugs and all bugs in general is of high importance as the bugs in themselves might be carriers of diseases greater and bigger than their sizes(how ironic). Hence, it is no surprise,the students of Unilag took to the streets, as the saying goes: "HEALTH is WEALTH"These bugs thrive in moist, cool,or damp environments and in such environments, they multiply. Using warm or extremely hot temperature washing and scrubbing of infected areas would go along way in expeling them. The use of Aerosol and heavy insecticides for fumigation would also expel them, however I would advocate it done at least twice in quick sucession and finally the encasing of mattresses,pillows and other materials in specially treated bags.The importance of practical Facility Management techniques cannot also be over-emphasised as though there are Potters in the Hostels,most cleanings are left in the hands of old men and women who just come in to wash and clean some parts of the hostels which is not meant to be. Facility management of the hostels should either be given to students of the courses in the university and they should be scored or better still, outsourced to management firms, which would bring better management to fore. These I feel should be done earlier to prevent the break of an epidemic.Finally, some people see problems, others see oppurtunities. In this so called crisis, there are oppurtunities for would be student entrepreneurs such as: -sales of special bed and pillow casings -sales of body friendly or sweet smelling insecticides-sales of special brushes for scrubbing and washing clothes, beds etc -facility management-sales of creams to prevent itching and skin irritations ... And the list goes on. Source: medicinenet.com, punchng.com, whatisthediff.net -ciao