Paris 2024 Olympics: Bedbug detection dog deployed at Incheon airport in South Korea for athletes’ return

L’objectif était de prévenir une éventuelle infestation (illustration). Unsplash – Melissa Whitecross

South Korean athletes returned home after the Paris Olympics. A bedbug detection dog was deployed to Incheon International Airport to reduce the risk of infestation.

On Monday, August 12, 2024, as South Korean athletes returned from the Paris Olympics, a bedbug detection dog was deployed to Incheon International Airport, the country's largest airport. The goal was to prevent a possible infestation, as the athletes had spent about two weeks in France.

Cesco sent its dog, a two-year-old beagle named Ceco, who can inspect a hotel room in less than two minutes, according to Kim Min-su, a company official.“As the global community gathers in Paris, France for the 2024 Summer Olympics, there is a possibility that bed bugs will enter in the country after the event”, indicates a press release from the Korean government, quoted by Le Parisien.

A Public Health Issue

The problem of bedbugs in Paris had been addressed as a public health issue the previous year. In September 2023, the Paris City Hall had asked the State for a plan against their proliferation. “Bedbugs are a public health issue and must be declared as such. The State must urgently bring together all the stakeholders concerned in order to deploy an action plan that is worthy of this scourge as the whole of France prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024", wrote Emmanuel Grégoire (PS), first deputy to Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

According to our colleagues, South Korea sent 144 athletes to the Games Olympic Games in Paris, for a total of 32 medals, including 13 gold. The mobilization will last until September 8, the government said. Flights coming directly from Paris are now disinfected every week, compared to once a month in normal times, and the airport quarantine service is ready to intervene if an outbreak is detected on a plane or at the airport.