Anchor: Concerns over reports of a nationwide bed bug infestation have gripped the country. And in response to the outbreak, the central and local governments have rolled up their sleeves to exterminate the notoriously elusive "hitchhikers" that latch onto people and their items.
Choi You Sun reports.

Report: Public anxiety over bed bugs is on the rise in South Korea amid a slew of suspected sightings and bites pouring in from all of the nation's major municipalities.

According to the government's countermeasures headquarters on Wednesday, over 30 suspected cases were reported to 17 major cities and provinces as of Monday.

The bug scare began on October 13, when imagoes and larvae of the insect were found at a public dry sauna facility in Incheon, forcing its owner to halt operations.

A private university in Daegu conducted emergency fumigation at its dormitories after a suspected case of bed bug bites was reported by a student on October 19. Similar complaints or sightings have since been filed mostly by lodging and public facilities around the country.

The nocturnal insects that feed on blood do not transmit infectious diseases, but their bites could cause severe itching and skin infections.

Bed bugs were believed to have become nearly eradicated in South Korea following an extermination campaign in the 1960s and the adoption of the now-banned Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane, or DDT, as an insecticide in the 1970s.

Local governments are exerting exhaustive efforts to prevent further infestations, conducting inspections of businesses at high risk as well as fumigations, with some circulating information booklets and opening a call center to receive related complaints.

Earlier this week, the government's countermeasures headquarters comprising ten relevant ministries requested local governments to report on suspected and confirmed bed bug cases and their response measures to update a nationwide status board.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.