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.
Can humans get sick from flea bites?
Chigoe flea bites on humans often result in infection and, in extreme cases, amputation. While cat fleas do not prefer to feed on humans, a cat flea bite on human skin can result in a number of diseases including plague, cat-scratch disease and typhus.
Are fleas dangerous to humans?
Fleas mainly feed on non-human animals but can bite and infect humans. They can be difficult to remove from the home and can survive for more than 100 days without a host. Bites from fleas can trigger allergic reactions, but they will not often have a serious impact on a person’s health.
What attracts fleas to a person?
Flea bitesThe mouthparts of adult fleas are adapted for puncturing animal skin and sucking blood. Both male and female fleas suck blood. Fleas are not attracted to some people, but other people are highly susceptible.
Can fleas reproduce on humans?
Fleas are parasites. They live exclusively on the blood they take from warm-blooded animals – these are the ‘host’. While cat and dog fleas cannot breed without their preferred hosts, they can live for several months on a diet of human blood. Fleas are capable of carrying and transmitting diseases through their bites.