Seoul, Nov 3 (IANS): Seoul plans to launch a comprehensive insect prevention system with a goal of achieving a "zero-bedbug city" amid a flurry of bedbug damage cases reported across South Korea, officials said on Friday.

In South Korea, bedbugs had been nearly brought to extinction following sweeping disinfection campaigns in the 1960s and the adoption of the powerful pesticide dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, in the 1970s, reports Yonhap News agency.

The country has recently experienced, however, a surge in reports of bedbug appearances and damage nationwide, including those from a university dormitory in the southeastern city of Daegu and a commercial sauna in Incheon, west of Seoul, last month.

To stop the proliferation of bedbugs, the Seoul city government has devised and is pushing for an insect prevention project, called "Zero-bedbug city project" ,city officials said.

Under the system, the city will operate a "bedbug report centre" allowing people to quickly notify the city of bedbug appearances via public health centers or the city's special 120 Dasan public call service number. Reports can also be filed through a special banner on the city's homepage.

Once reports are filed, the city's ward offices will dispatch authorities to inspect the reported areas and ensure compliance with relevant regulations and necessary insect prevention measures, the officials said.

Seoul is currently conducting intensive hygiene inspections of bedbug-prone public facilities, such as hotels, other types of accommodations, public bathhouses and Korean public saunas called "jjimjilbang".

In cooperation with ward offices, the city plans to inspect 3,175 such public facilities to assess bedding maintenance and facility disinfection conditions, and continue with the inspections through the end of the year.

If a bedbug presence is confirmed at commercial accommodations or hotels, prompt insect control measures will be ordered and two more inspections will be conducted over the next 20 days to confirm bedbug extinction.

Other multiuse public facilities, such as the subway or movie theaters will also be inspected for bedbugs, with Seoul planning to replace the fabric coverings on subway seats over the long run.