Invaded by bedbugs, a family uses a particular insecticide and ends up hospitalized

La famille a été hospitalisée en fin de soirée ce vendredi 23 février. Illustration Pixabay

An entire family was hospitalized during the night of Friday February 23 to Saturday February 24 after using an insecticide banned for sale.

This Friday, February 23, around 11 p.m., the firefighters were called by a father of Bagnolet family. The latter has just sprayed an anti-bedbug insecticide in his home. He and his pregnant partner, as well as their two children aged 3 and 4, presented symptoms of poisoning. They were then quickly transported to Montreuil hospital, reveals Le Parisien.

The ill-informed public

The family had purchased this anti-bedbug product on the Internet which is prohibited for sale ;in France because it is very dangerous for health. The insecticide in question, called Sniper, had nevertheless been at the heart of a toxicovigilance study. The Anses report reveals that between January and June 2018, poison control centers were contacted for 170 separate events, out of more than 200 people exposed to this product. The circumstances are varied: adults poisoned because they misused the product, suicide attempts, or children who ingest the product because it was not put away.

L’Anses also indicates that users of this insecticide are not aware of it that this product is prohibited. Anses then called for better "informing the general public" about these dangerous substances and the "risks of using them", as well as "strengthen controls on markets and shops".