NORFOLK, Va. - A bed bug was found in a Maury High School classroom Monday, according to a Norfolk Public Schools official.
School officials said this is the fourth letter sent home about bed bugs in about a month.
Maury High's principal sent students home with a letter regarding the incident:
Dear Parent or Guardian,
As the principal of Maury High School, I want to keep our parents informed of situations that arise at our school. Today, a bed bug was found in your child's classroom.
Norfolk Public Schools will continue to monitor the school for bed bugs, provide inspections of the school, and have a licensed pest control specialist assist with pest management.
Bed begs are a nuisance, but their bites are not known to spread disease. If you have medical concerns for you or your child, please contact your health care provider or the Maury nurse.
The school also released a statement Monday:
We have received several media inquiries regarding a sighting of a single bed bug this morning at Maury High School. Students that were in the affected room are being sent home with a letter to parents notifying them of this instance. As with each instance of a bed bug sighting, communication with parents/guardians is made via robocall or letter as stipulated in our NPS Bed Bug Protocol. We remain vigilant in our efforts as we employ necessary intervention strategies to assist in ridding the possible infestations at the source location(s), usually an individual's living quarters. We do not have an infestation at any of our schools. The State Inspector from VDACS (Virginia Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services) has continued to be involved with all of our treatments as well as a licensed pest control specialist. It is important to remember that the source of bed bugs often cannot be determined, as they may be found in many places, including hotels, airplanes, buses, hospitals, department stores and movie theaters. Bed bugs are a nuisance, but their bites are not known to spread disease.
It is vitally important to us to be mindful of the sensitive nature of dealing with this issue as it pertains to students staff and visitors who may have these infestations; we certainly don't want anyone to feel ostracized or embarrassed, should they be dealing with bed bugs in their living quarters.
A school spokeswoman says this is the fourth letter sent home to Maury High School parents about a sighting this year.
The other letters were sent home on April 6th, April 19th, and April 26th.
Last month, Norfolk Public Schools emailed a letter to News 3 regarding multiple reports of bed bugs and moldy cafeteria food at Lake Taylor High School.
