Unlike ticks, fleas don’t seem all that threatening. Mostly, we see the tiny bloodsuckers as a nuisance for pets and for us, not a serious threat to anyone’s health. Don’t dismiss them. Learn how fleas can transmit a surprising number of diseases to animals and humans.
Source: Pet MD, September 12, 2016.
Fleas can cause serious harm to you and your pet’s health through their bites and when they are ingested (such as when self-grooming) by the animals they target. Here are four flea diseases you need to be aware of:
- Murine Typhus: Rats are the main carrier for the type of flea that carries Murine typhus, but cats that come into contact with infected fleas can bring these disease vectors home.
- Mycoplasma haemofelis: haemofelis is a parasitic bacterial disease that infects red blood cells. It is transmitted to cats through flea bites, as well as tick and mosquito bites
- Tapeworms
- Cat scratch disease: Bartonella henselae (henselae), the bacteria that causes cat scratch fever, is fairly common in felines.