On Monday, 19 October, Colentina Clinical Hospital in Bucharest reported bedbugs in half of the neurology ward, on the first floor. Manager Alexandru-Emil Iacobescu says staff saw the insects about ten days ago. They moved six patients, after checks, to the other half of the floor. We do not name them. Acute care, he says, was not touched.

The corridor and that half-floor were sealed. Admission capacity fell by about 24 beds. Radio România Actualități notes that pest control also ran on Monday. Iacobescu: a pest-control firm has come three times; on Monday more than 30 people were in the building, including for prevention. The area stays closed while the treatments last. It has not been announced that the insects are gone.

Where they came from: the manager lists patients, visitors or staff. He does not know who. “As soon as they were found, the neutralisation procedures began.” That is the hospital’s account, not a DSP report published here and not blame on a named patient.

Iacobescu says they want to be sure of the treatment, so the same mini-focus does not return in a month or two. That is caution, not a verdict that the outbreak is over. Digi24 describes the find during cleaning, after a patient was discharged; the hospital has not published that detail in our sources, so we leave it as press reporting.

The same kind of problem closed neuromuscular rehabilitation at Bagdasar-Arseni two months ago, for almost a month. That is context, not the same pavilion and not a national statistic. At Colentina, on Monday, the half-floor was still isolated.

The closed facts: six transfers, 24 beds out, pest control under way. Eradication, origin, the public-health inspectorate: still open.

Image: trams on Șoseaua Ștefan cel Mare, Bucharest, 29 October 2017, TrainSimFan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The hospital’s street, not the neurology ward and not the insects.

Sources consulted: Ploşniţe descoperite în Spitalul Colentina din Bucureşti, la neurologie — Radio România Actualități; Ploșnițe în secția de Neurologie a Spitalului Colentina din București: șase pacienți au fost mutați — Digi24; Ploşniţe la Spitalul Colentina. Pacienţi mutaţi urgent — Radio București FM.