MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Flea

Medical Encyclopedia

Flea

Different types of fleas prefer specific animals as hosts, but will infest humans if their specific hosts are unavailable. Fleas can carry plague and typhus. They are also thought to transmit several other diseases. (Image courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)

Update Date: 2/19/2008

Updated by: John E. Duldner, Jr., MD, MS, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Director of Research, Department of Emergency Medicine, Akron General Medical Center and Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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