On Bedbugs and Lice.

A critical reflection about humans, insects, microbes, and the supposed bubas of Cristopher Columbus.

Portrait of a Man, Said to be Christopher Columbus (dated 1519), by Sebastiano del Piombo (1485–1547). Metropolitan Museum of Art. Credit: Wikipedia.

The international press has echoed a large outbreak of bedbugs in recent months. The ugly and small ‘beasties’ first settled in the beautiful city of Paris. In the words of The New York Times, the Light City is the city of light and bites. For Parisians, the bugs are ‘punaises de lit.’

Later, this little devil with legs arrived at the beds and different places (hotels, public baths, saunas, trains, and subway trains) in other major European cities like Madrid.

Bedbugs do not travel alone.

There are everyday reports of infections transmitted by mosquitoes (dengue fever, chikungunya, West Nile fever) or ticks (Lyme disease, Crimean-Congo fever). We are leaving out here the ‘plague’ fleas that rest in history books and fantastic literature (Boccaccio’s Decameron, Camus’ The Plague). Even today, in 2023, there are still occasional outbreaks in…