The prestigious Cinémathèque Française said yesterday that “it would temporarily close over a bedbug infestation” after the blood-sucking creatures bit people who attended a class with Hollywood star Sigourney Weaver, reports Le Monde:
The Cinémathèque, an internationally renowned film archive and cinema, said in a statement it would close its four screening halls for a month from Friday….In early November, several audience members complained to French reporters about being bitten by bedbugs following a master class with Oscar-nominated star Weaver, known for roles in films such as Alien. One person told French daily newspaper Le Parisien that bedbugs had been seen crawling around “the seats and clothes.”
At the Cinémathèque, located in eastern Paris, three screening halls are open to the public while the fourth is used for educational activities. “All the seats will be dismantled and then individually treated with dry steam at 180°C several times, before being systematically checked by dogs,” the institution said. Carpets will receive the “same level” of treatment.
Parasites can take years to eradicate. It took nearly 40 years to largely eradicate Guinea worms, nasty parasites that caused tens of millions of people to scream with unbearable pain. But by 2023, Guinea worms had been eradicated in at least 17 countries, and “no guinea worm was reported” in 2024.
Guinea worms used to inflict burning pain on millions of people in Africa and South Asia every year. They would grow up to 3 feet long while living inside a person’s body, then burst out of their foot or other sensitive areas of their anatomy, such as their eyeball or their penis.
“With a guinea worm infection, you get a gross open wound from which the worm emerges over a period of weeks to months with extreme painfulness. There were millions of cases in the 80s, and now there are none. Incredible human progress.”
“It’s possible that the worm is evolutionarily adapted to cause prolonged pain and suffering. Since this will increase the chance that the host will put their foot in the water to soothe the pain, and that can help the worm get to the next stage in its life cycle,” notes a scientist.
“When The Carter Center began leading the international campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease in 1986, there were an estimated 3.5 million cases in at least 21 countries in Africa and Asia. Today, that number has been reduced by more than 99.99%.”
