Victoria Falls invaded by bed bugs

Residential areas of Zimbabwe’s biggest tourist city, Victoria Falls, have been invaded by bed bugs. 

Earlier this week, the city council warned residents about the presence of bed bugs and encouraged them to report to health officials in the event of their premises being infested.

“Victoria Falls city council is urging its valued residents, stakeholders and visitors to be on high alert for the presence of bed bugs in all areas of residence in the city,” the council said in a statement.

It added it has started disinfecting the affected areas.

Victoria Falls has a population of over 100,000 with most of population living in the high density, low-income areas. Bed bugs feed on blood. The bites are not usually dangerous or life-threatening, but prolonged exposure to bed bug infestation can cause health problems. 

A local resident of Chinotimba, a high-density suburb, told TimesLIVE they reported the bed bug infestation to the authorities.

“At first we didn’t know where the bite marks on our bodies were coming from. It was itchy and then we saw these reddish-brown insects crawling on the beds and in some parts of the house. We reported the bed bug problem to the authorities. Thankfully our homes have been disinfected,” he said.

Victoria Falls is dotted with curio shops and five-star hotels with tourists coming to see the falls known as the Mosi-oa-Tunya, “the smoke that thunders”. According to the country’s environment ministry, Victoria Falls received 352,719 tourist arrivals in the first half of 2022.

TimesLIVE

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