Bed bug found at Portsmouth hospital

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) - A bed bug was found at Maryview Medical Center in Portsmouth after a patient complained of a bite.

The hospital is the latest building in Portsmouth to have a bed bug scare. Several Portsmouth middle schools have reported bed bug bites or sightings over the past few months.

Lynne Zultanky with Bon Secours told WAVY.com a patient complained of a bed bug bite on March 7. Pest control did not find any bugs, but the room was treated anyway.

The Health Department was satisfied after no bed bugs were found in the hospital's Behavioral Medicine area March 8.

"We asked the pest control company to return to do a second inspection," Chief Medical Officer Dr. Warren Austin said. "We wanted to see if there is anything we missed, and to see if there is anything else we should be doing. They did not see anything."

Saturday, a patient said they saw a bed bug on the floor.

"That's when we did see an actual bed bug," Austin said. "We brought the pest control company back, and we are actually working with the Portsmouth Department of Health.

Austin said no bugs have been seen since Saturday.

"We have not discovered any others, yet there is a chance... that is why we have had the whole unit cleaned, all linens and laundry cleaned," Austin said.

An adult bed bug can survive 550 days without food and the bugs do not transmit disease. Experts recommend often changing your bed sheets and keeping your home clean to avoid infestation.