British couple killed by pesticide sprayed in the room next door

With the global resurgence of bed bugs causing a frenzy all over the world, bed bug pesticides used in some countries, including Egypt, have been found to have quite high toxic levels. An investigation found that the cause of death of a British couple in their 60s vacationing at a hotel in Hurghada, a famous resort on the Red Sea in Egypt, in August 2018 was bedbug pesticide that had been sprayed in the room next door.

According to the BBC on Saturday (local time), John Cooper (68) and his wife Susan (63) from Lancashire died after staying in a hotel in Hurghada being fumigated to kill bedbugs. The bereaved family did not trust the hotel’s claims that the couple may have died from E. coli and continued testing in their home country.

The Lancashire Coroner's Office concluded that the couple died of carbon monoxide poisoning after inhaling Lambda, a bedbug insecticide containing methylene chloride. Lambda is used diluted with methylene chloride in some countries. This substance is known to produce carbon monoxide in the body during metabolism.

The hotel fumigated the room next door with Lambda around lunchtime the day before the couple's death. Afterwards, tape was placed on the gap in the door connecting the two rooms, which was not completely sealed and did not prevent the spread of pesticide.

Countries around the world are working hard to control the pest situation, but it doesn’t seem easy. A press conference was held in Hong Kong in November after bed bugs were found at a couple who returned from a trip to Korea. Last month, the number of bed bug reports in the U.S. reached 2,667 cases, up by 17% from the same period last year, according to the New York Post.


purple@donga.com