Hospitals, Nursing Homes, And Schools Should Be Concerned About Disease Carrying Ants

Experts estimate the world is home to 22,000 ant species.Two of them, the notorious, pharaohants and fire ants are major problems throughout the world in hospitals,nursing homes and schools. They’re creating new headaches for publicadministrators and operations managers. Why all the fuss? Pharaoh ants and fireants are more than a nuisance; they’re responsible for serious human illnessand sometimes even death.

The pharaoh ant is one of the world’s premier ant pests. Thetiny disease carrying pharaoh ant (1/16 of an inch in length) is difficult tosee with a visual inspection. These tiny insects have a translucent, reddishgold color. Although a tropical species,thanks to central heating they are now flourishing in colder climates.

Pharaohants live in multi-colonies with thousands or hundreds of thousands ofmembers. They establish huge colonies throughout hospitals, nursing homes,schools and other settings. Pharaoh ants have even penetrated the security ofrecombinant DNA laboratories (source: Haack and Granovsky). The warmth seekingpharaoh ants build nests around central heating pipes and boiler rooms. Theyalso live in warm, moist inaccessible areas such as inside furniture, behindbaseboards and under floors. Pharaoh ants may even find homes between layers ofbed linens and in piles of trash and inside appliances. Once they invade abuilding they’re just about impossible to eliminate.

These insects have a wide food preference ranging fromfruits to syrups, meats, fatty foods, oily foods and dead insects. Inhospitals, nursing homes and schools, these pests easily carry germs from onearea to another. Pharaoh ants are known to spread diseases, some life threatening,especially to the sick and elderly.

Researchers have analyzed pharaoh ants found in hospitals -they discovered over a dozen types of pathogenic bacteria. According to TheLancet, one of the world’s prestigious medical journals, pharaoh ants capturedin nine hospitals were found to be carriers of Pseudomonas, Salmonella spp.,Streptococcus spp., Staphylococcus spp., and Clostridium spp.

In severely infested environments, pharaoh ants brazenlycrawl into human wounds and dine on blood plasma and wound dressings. Theseants can spread bacteria and disease while traveling from patient to patient.Newborns and burn victims residing in pharaoh ant-infested hospitals aresubjected to increased risk due to the pharaoh ants’ pathogens. In hospitals,they have been observed searching for moisture from the mouths of sleepingbabies and from active IV bottles.

It is best to ask an expert to deal with these unwantedguests. If you disturb a colony they split the colony through a process calledbudding and will create several new nests in adjacent areas. To help preventinfestations in hospitals, nursing homes and schools, keep food in sealed,secure containers and keep areas free of food particles and sweet liquids. These insects contaminate food with the pathogensthey’ve picked up while crawling in buildings.

Red imported fire antswere accidently brought to the United States from South America in theearly 1900’s. These ants are aggressive, efficient competitors. They live inlarge colonies in dirt nests, which form mounds. They eat plants andoccasionally smaller insects. Their bites create a burning sensation andpainful pustules in about 50 percent of people bitten. Infected pustules canturn into scars.

Fire ants inject their venom by utilizing the biting partsof their jaw and rotating their bodies. They often inject venom into a victimnumerous times. People allergic to fire ant venom may experience anaphylaxis; alife-threatening allergic reaction.

People are more likely to be attacked while outdoors,however there have been reports of fire ants stinging people in nursing homes,hotels and homes. Fire ant stings have actually killed a small number ofnursing home patients (source: The American Journal of Medicine).

In severely fire ant infested hospitals and nursing homes,cognitively impaired, immobile patients are particularly at risk of a fire antattacks. An attack may cause respiratory tract obstruction, frank anaphylaxisand the worsening of pre-existing conditions. In Florida, in 2000, Mary L.Morales Gay, an elderly nursing home patient with Alzheimer’s disease, died aday after being bitten 1,625 times by fire ants (source: Associated Press). Whywas she bitten that many times? Vibration or movement inspires a group of fireants to bite. It’s natural for people move when fire ants swarm on their armsor legs.

Fire ant attacks have inspired lawsuits against doctors andhealth care facilities (source: The American Journal of Medicine). In 2005,Earl Dean Griffith, while recuperating from surgery in a Florida nursing home,died after being bitten by hundreds of fire ants. The 73 year old Griffith diedfrom a combination of shock and ant poison in his system. Mariner Health Care,one of the nation’s largest nursing home chains, agreed to pay his familymembers $1.8 million. As you can see, fire ant infestations are not just aproblem for third world countries, but can be an issue for healthcarefacilities and nursing homes in the United States.

Antsof all varieties crawl through their own waste material, animal feces andother waste material as they move around their environment and nest. Their bodycan pick up and deposit bacteria and other microorganisms throughout hospitals,nursing homes, schools, homes etc. School cafeterias should be extra careful;as these specific pest ants transmit food-borne illnesses such as dysentery andSalmonella on food and food preparation surfaces. Safety measures and proactiveprofessional ant control services may prevent diseases and lawsuits.

Due to the adaptive nature of ant colonies, destroying theentire colony is nearly impossible. Typically pest management companies willstrive to control local ant populations. Hospitals, nursing homes and schoolsshould eliminate food particle and sweet liquid messes quickly. Your facilitymay not currently have disease carrying ants but they are spreading around theUnited States. It is best to implement a comprehensive ant prevention programwith the help of a professional pest management firm to avoid human illness andlawsuits from ant infestations.