HUDSON COUNTY — In response to reports of a massive infestation of bed bugs in room no. 306 in Meadowview County Hospital in Secaucus, county officials said they have moved aggressively. Meadowview is the county’s psychiatric hospital.
An internal report to the county said that from mid to late 2010, room 306 was overrun with bedbugs. The county responded with treatment on Jan. 1, 2011, and reported as of Jan. 12 that the bed bug problem is under control. County officials said they could find no evidence of bed bugs outside room 306, leading to an additional investigation into whether someone had brought the bugs into the facility from a private home.
To maintain this level of confidence, the county is scheduled to return and install monitors in and around the perimeter of room 306 this week.
This is not the first time 306 has been a problem, county officials said, noting that a prior incident caused bed bugs to spread out from the room throughout the hospital – which did not happen this time. County officials, however, said they cannot rule out future smaller outbreaks.