This photograph depicts a dorsal view of a bedbug nymph, Cimex lectularius, as it was in the process of ingesting a blood meal from the arm of a “voluntary” human host, which could be seen filling the insect’s abdomen.
Bedbugs are not vectors in nature of any known human disease. Although some disease organisms have been recovered from bedbugs under laboratory conditions, none have been shown to be transmitted by bedbugs outside of the laboratory.
The common bedbug is found worldwide. Infestations are common in the developing world, occurring in settings of unsanitary living conditions and severe crowding. In North America and Western Europe, bedbug infestations became rare during the second half of the 20th century and have been viewed as a condition that occurs in travelers returning from developing countries. However, anecdotal reports suggest that bedbugs are increasingly common in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
