• Those without bacteria are not harmful for the human body at all, says Dr. Masaaki Sugiura

Khaldon Azhari

TOKYO: Do you find cockroaches disgusting? One person who doesn’t is Dr. Masaaki Sugiura, who runs the cockroach lab at Fumakilla Ltd.

“I have never felt disgusted by cockroaches,” Sugiura admits, noting that roaches are only unpleasant when they carry bacteria. “Those without bacteria are not harmful for the human body at all.”

“You can find bacteria in all normal environments and some bacteria is picked up by cockroaches. However, the cockroaches bred by us in a special environment do not have bacteria that is harmful for the human body.”

However, domestic roaches are less fussy about where they go and can carry sources of infection.

“Wild cockroaches commonly found around houses are able to move and live in various places and it is possible for them to carry harmful bacteria after walking in unsanitary places,” says Sugiura. These, he adds, can pose health problems for humans.

So he works for a company that helps to eradicate cockroaches.

“For many years, we have developed and sold various types of insecticides, such as aerosol type to kill cockroaches by direct spray, and poison bait or fumigator to kill hidden cockroaches in walls and corners.”

Sugiura reassures us that such measure are 100 percent effective and you don’t have to fear them.