JUL 29 2008 — Cristina Sassudelli, 41, an Italian woman, woke up in a first-class cabin “covered in ticks from head to toe” while making a night crossing over the weekend from the northern city of Genoa to the port of Olbia on the southern Italian island of Sardinia. At six thirty in the morning she woke up with itching on one arm and I soon realized she was covered with ticks from head to toe.
The ferry, run by a company called La Tirrenia, eventually helped her buy new clothes, but the company did not reimburse her for her first-class ticket. the ferry was experiencing heavy traffic in hot, humid conditions and was reported to be first time that a tick infestation has happened. The contaminated zone was sealed off and was disinfected.
In recent years, there have been several cases of tick and flea infestations on Italian transport, especially trains.