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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.
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 ]
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.
Fleas smell exhaled carbon dioxide from humans and animals and jump rapidly to the source to feed on the newly found host. The flea is wingless so it can not fly, but it can jump long distances with the help of small, powerful legs.
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 ...
Pulicidae feed on mammalian blood. Ctenocephalides felis felis is also known as the cat flea, and is an extremely important parasite of domestic cats and dogs. They prefer to feed on areas round the head and neck of a cat, rather than the ventral part of the body. [4] The transmission of dog tapeworm is a result of this flea, as well.
Northern rat fleas are external parasites, living by hematophagy off the blood of rodents. N. fasciatus can bite humans, but they are more common parasites of rodents. [1] Since they are associated with humans, they are common disease vectors that can spread from animals to humans. Diseases that can be spread through fleas include the plague ...