A complaint was first made in December after crew members reported bedbugs on board while the submarine was moored at Kitsap-Bremerton Naval Base in Washington. However, entomologists couldn’t find out about the infestation until almost a month later. The mattresses have been replaced and all floors and bedding have been completely chemically treated to eradicate the bedbugs. The crew members have since safely returned to the submarine.
Chief Amanda Gray, deputy public affairs officer for the Navy Pacific Fleet Submarine Force, told CNN that a team of preventive medicine technicians from Naval Hospital Bremerton had been called to search the submarine as soon as the crew members were in Navy leadership submitted the complaint about bedbugs.
“You actually have to find a bug so you can actually do something to really treat it, because you know there are all sorts of things that can make your skin itchy. You have to acknowledge that this is really the problem ( Bugs)) before they actually start tackling it, “Gray said.
Once the bugs were identified, work began on chemically treating all infected surfaces of the submarine. During the treatment process, the families of some seafarers told the local media that crew members slept in cars until the Navy set up a temporary structure to house the displaced crew. Gray confirmed to CNN that marine berths were temporarily being set up nearby while the submarine was undergoing chemical treatment.
No health problems were reported by seafarers on board during the bug infestation, except for a few “bites here and there,” Gray said.
Daily inspections on board the submarine will continue to ensure the room remains bedbug free, including the proper washing of all linens.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that bedbug infestation has spread rapidly in parts of the United States recently. Cleanliness doesn’t necessarily determine whether bedbugs are found, as they usually live near or near sleeping places. They hide in places like mattress seams, box spring beds, bed frames and headboards during the day. A bedbug bite is not considered dangerous, but it can cause an allergic reaction.
