Bed bugs are part of life in Third World countries and people don't bother about them much. Around three-quarters of people won't know they've provided a meal. And even those with an allergy get off relatively lightly - just an itch.

In the rich world, it's a different matter. People are paranoid about bed bugs. "It's where you are most vulnerable in life and the abhorrence you feel is understandable," Doggett says. "For a lot of people, it's mental trauma knowing they've had bed bugs."

Insecticide resistance means it's difficult and time-consuming to deal with an infestation. And there's the amazing resilience of Cimex lectularius and its tropical cousin Cimex hemipterus - they can go six months without a blood meal.

Bed bugs hide during the day and only come out to feed near dawn. And they even spit an anticoagulant into the wounds their mouths make to ensure blood flows more freely.

The hostel owners that accommodate backpackers like Dowding can no longer claim ignorance about the worldwide reprise of this nasty little blood-sucking arthropod.

In April, at the swish Sheraton Crystal City Hotel in Washington, the US Environmental Protection Agency hosted a three-day international summit on the global phenomenon.

Doggett expects that the wave of bed bug-linked litigation sweeping the US will break on other shores.

"There have been just too many reports. There's a wealth of research to show there is an upsurge."

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Editor:Yang Jie