Although experts do not believe that bed bugs can transmit infectious pathogens, it is possible. They have been found to carry up to 40 human pathogens; fortunately, there are little evidences that transmission has ever happened.
The recent article conducted by Canadian researchers has linked MRSA to bed bug bites. MRSA is a bacterium responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. This article assumes that bed bugs are a potential reservoir of this disease and their bites may make people vulnerable to infection by MRSA bacteria present in their environment.
By reading the findings from this research work, I did not see any legitimacy to this claim, as it is still a theory at this point. In addition, besides the bed bugs and their bites, MRSA bacteria can enter a body through any area of compromised skin, such as cuts, wounds, etc. when hosts are present in setting with frequent skin-to-skin contact as well as contaminated items and surfaces.
The relationship between bed bugs and MRSA cannot be fully known until a viable theory is proven via a large scale of committed researches from reliable research settings, I recommend that we should be extra vigilant when dealing with bed bugs, especially in lack of cleanliness environments (where MRSA bacteria thrive); nevertheless, I am still convinced that there is no relationship between bed bug infestations and the sanitary conditions of the infested location.
I also recommend adopting proactive bed bug prevention methods to avoid transporting bed bugs from one area into another. Some people tend to buy toxic pesticides and bug foggers to deal with bed bugs in their presence. This type of unprofessional control methods will eventually lead to negative consequences that could be as worse as MRSA or any other infectious pathogens. Bed bugs can be professionally battled though effective management means, such as heat treatment, “the use of lethal temperature limits to destroy all life stages of bed bugs”, as well as a compensation of proven chemical and non-chemical approaches applied by certified pest management professionals.
Finally, as I usually say, deal with bed bugs by education.
