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Flea bites in humans. Fleas feed on a wide variety of warm-blooded vertebrates including dogs, cats, rabbits, squirrels, ferrets, rats, mice, birds, and sometimes humans. Fleas normally specialise in one host species or group of species, but can often feed but not reproduce on other species.
There are more than 2,000 species of tiny (0.04 to 0.15 inches), wingless, blood-sucking fleas that live on the body of the host they infest. Although fleas cannot fly, they have developed ...
The human flea (Pulex irritans) – once also called the house flea [1] – is a cosmopolitan flea species that has, in spite of the common name, a wide host spectrum. It is one of six species in the genus Pulex ; the other five are all confined to the Nearctic and Neotropical realms . [ 2 ]
Cat fleas originated in Africa [4] but can now be found globally. [5] As humans began domesticating cats, the prevalence of the cat flea increased and it spread throughout the world. Of the cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis felis is the most common, although other subspecies do exist, including C. felis strongylus, C. orientis, and C. damarensis ...
Don't let fleas take over your house. Follow these expert tips on how to get rid of fleas on pets (dogs included!), furniture, bedding and even in your yard.
Humans acquire infection by inhalation or by self-inoculating infected fleas or flea feces into skin when they visit disease-endemic areas infested with rats. [ 20 ] [ 27 ] Most patients present with a fever, and many have a rash and headache, [ 26 ] although it can also lead to disseminated , multisystem disease including infections of the ...
By stage 2 (days 1–2), penetration is complete and the flea has burrowed most of its body into the skin. Only the anus, the copulatory organs, and four rear air holes in fleas called stigmata remain on the outside of the epidermis. The anus will excrete feces that is thought to attract male fleas for mating, described in a later section.
Problems caused by fleas may range from mild to severe itching and discomfort to skin problems and infections. Anemia may also result from flea bites in extreme circumstances. Furthermore, fleas can transmit tapeworms and diseases to pets. When fleas bite humans, they may develop an itching rash with small bumps that may bleed.