What problems can fleas cause?
Fleas can carry and transmit several potential illnesses of importance to humans, including typhus and plague, and can transmit “cat scratch disease” (infection with Bartonella) among cats who can then spread the disease to humans.
What is the most common disease or effect caused by fleas?
Flea-borne (murine) typhus, is a disease caused by a bacteria called Rickettsia typhi. Flea-borne typhus is spread to people through contact with infected fleas. Fleas become infected when they bite infected animals, such as rats, cats, or opossums.
What diseases can fleas give humans?
Diseases transmitted by fleas
- Bubonic plague. The most well-known flea transmitted disease is the Bubonic plague.
- Murine typhus. This is a rare disease in North America, but a few cases of Murine Typhus are reported each year and mostly originating in southwestern states.
- Tungiansis.
- Tularemia.
What are the dangers of fleas to humans?
A flea bite may also become infected. If the affected person has swollen glands, extreme pain around the bite, or excessive redness, they should speak with a doctor. In some cases, fleas carry diseases that can be transmitted through bites, such as flea-borne spotted fever, plague, typhus, and cat scratch fever.
What kind of diseases can fleas cause in humans?
Fleaborne Diseases of the United States. In the United States, some fleas carry pathogens that can cause human disease, including: Plague — most commonly transmitted to humans in the United States by infected ground squirrel fleas, Oropsylla montana, and globally by infected Oriental rat fleas, Xenopsylla cheopis.
What causes a human to get a flea bite?
Flea bites on humans are usually caused by fleas on cats and dogs, and are usually very itchy and sometimes painful, appearing as small red bumps with a red halo around the bite. This reaction is actually caused by the flea’s saliva. Flea bites come in clusters or groups of about four and can even appear in a straight line.
Are there any long term effects from fleas?
In most cases, the itchiness and red bite marks slowly disappear without any long term effects to your health. However, because fleas are recognized disease and parasite vectors and can cause allergic reactions in more sensitive people or pets, it is important to know about the different possible diseases they can transmit.
What happens when you have a flea infestation?
The whole thing of dealing with fleas makes most people itch all over. No wonder: these are really nasty, disgusting little bugs. Not only will they crawl on your pets and suck their blood, but they can also jump on you and bite you, causing much scratching and allergic reactions.
What diseases can fleas cause?
Fleas are not only parasites that cause discomfort in pets, but are also carriers of diseases such as Bartonella , typhus or apedermatitis. Fleas may also cause a tapeworm infestation when ingested.
What are diseases carry fleas to humans?
- Parasitic Dermatitis. Parasitic dermatitis is an allergic reaction that is caused by a pet’s hypersensitivity to substances in flea saliva.
- Lyme Disease. Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria that is transmitted by the bite of a tick.
- Bartonella.
- Erlichiosis.
- Rickettsiae.
- Meningoencephalitis.
- Tapeworms.
Can fleas carry diseases?
Fleas can carry other diseases, such as plague, which infect your cat. Fleas can also carry diseases, such as cat scratch fever, which may affect you and your family. Some cats are highly sensitive or even allergic to fleas.
Can fleas make humans sick?
Fleas can also carry human diseases . The most famous example of this was the plague. Owning a pet increases the risk of a flea infestation, but it is not only pet-owners who are at risk. Fleas can…