Cardboard Boxes

Cardboard boxes are great homes for cockroaches, bed bugs,

spiders, fleas, mites, ticks, and other pests… and not to mention

their waste products. They like to lay their eggs in the deep dark

corrugated layers. It is a great place for larvae to pupate.

Larvae: [lahr-vuh] plural noun. Immature wingless feeding stage of

an insect.

Pupate: [pyoo-peyt] verb. To undergo a dormant stage of growth

before emerging as an adult insect.

Break it down: Boxes travel through warehouses and in trucks

around the country, or even the globe. They pick up hitchhiking

vermin, soil, dust, and debris along the way. If the boxes become

damp, the moisture will aid the growth of mold and bacteria.

The Solution: When supplies are delivered, unpack and take all

boxes to the soiled utility room immediately. Cardboard shipping

boxes should NOT be found in sterile or clean supply areas, clinical

areas, or used for storing patient items for any length of time. If it

has a mailing label, think: Ship it out.

Healthcare facilities must provide a clean and sanitary environment,

which means no creepy crawlers.

¹Dolhun, E.P., & Antes, A.W. (2016, November 2). A case of cardboard boxes likely facilitating the biting of a patient by trypanosoma cruzi-infected triatomine bugs. Retrieved from http://www.ajtmh.org/content/journals/10.4269/ajtmh.16-0455

Shipping boxes linked to

dangerous tropical disease

A young male in New Jersey developed

mysterious swollen rashes that did not

look like regular bug bites. He lived in a

clean home with no pets and had not

traveled out of the area.

Eventually, the CDC was called to help.

They identified bugs which tested

positive for Chagas Disease. This

disease is caused by a parasite found in

Triatoma bug feces. It is common in

tropical areas where homes have

thatched roofs such as Central and

South America. If untreated, it can be

chronic and life threatening.

So how could he catch it?

Answer: His bedroom doubled as his

home office, where he kept shipments

he received in cardboard boxes. Fact:

53 of a leading internet retailer’s 78

American warehouses are located in

states where the CDC has confirmed the

presence of Triatoma bugs¹!

Triatoma Bugs (penny for scale)

a.k.a. The “Kissing Bug.”

Why is it called that? Because it often

bites people on the face.