NEWS

Bedbug found in Galion school

Staff report
File In this Wednesday, March 30, 2011 file photo, A bed bug is displayed at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington.  Canadian scientists detected drug-resistant MRSA bacteria in bedbugs from three hospital patients from a downtrodden Vancouver neighborhood. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

GALION — A bedbug has been found on a student at Galion Intermediate School, the school district and Galion Health Department said Friday. The same bug was found on the student's desk several weeks later. The school district is calling the finding an isolated incident.

According to Galion Schools superintendent James Grubbs, the school responded to the issue using protocols and procedures prescribed by the Central Ohio Bedbug Task Force.

"The district administrators have been working closely with the Galion City Health Department to ensure safe and effective procedures are being followed to prevent further findings. The Health Department is not recommending that parents remove their children from school due to this bedbug finding," the school district said.

While bedbugs are a nuisance and can lead to itches and rashes, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says they are not known to cause or spread disease. The agency strongly recommends that a licensed pest control company be contacted if bedbugs are detected.

Anyone with questions about the finding at Galion Intermediate School can call superintendent Grubbs at 419-468-3432 or Galion Health Department environmental health director Stephanie Zmuda at 419-468-1075, ext. 1265.