Bed Bugs-A New Super Bug?

I do not understand the new bed bug infestation we are having. Bed bugs have been around for ever. When I was in Nursing school we were taught, that bed bugs were microscopic bugs that lived in our mattresses and survived off the dead skin we shed while we sleep.I have been nursing over 20 years and I have never heard of bed bugs you could see with a naked eye.The news reports I have seen on TV are showing what I would call a super bed bug. They looked more like ticks. However, Sense they have come into the lime light a few of my friends and colleagues have been discussing them. I have come to the conclusion that maybe something out there is effecting the growth of the bed bug. What ever it is has to be very common for so many people to be having this problem. I also wonder if it is some form of bio-therorism that went way wrong. Yes, I know sounds like a conspiracy, but stranger things have happened. When I was in college, I took a microbiology class. In this class we had to scrap off the top of our mattress. Then place the almost invisible ash into a bag. When we got back to the lab we had to look at it under a microscope. Oh yea, there were literally hundreds of bed bugs. But you couldn't see them with the naked eye.In all my studies and research until this year,I had never heard of, nor seen one with out a microscope. Should we be worried? I am not sure if we should be at this time, unless you have an infestation problem. The best way to keep the number of bed begs down in your home (everyone has them) is to clean your sheets once a week, turn your mattress every other month. or once a month. Keep your home and furniture vacuumed and clean.