Where are Pulex irritans found?
The human flea (Pulex irritans) is one of more than 1,600 species and subspecies of flea that populate the Earth from the Arctic Circle to the deserts of Africa.
What is the scientific name of human flea?
Pulex irritansHuman flea / Scientific name
Pulex irritans. Pulex irritans is known as the human flea. Fleas are 1-4 mm in length and laterally-compressed.
What is the vector for the plague?
Plague is most often vector borne, transmitted by fleas, to a variety of rodent populations. The classic vector is the oriental rat flea Xenopsylla cheopis. Historically, plague has been known for centuries as being responsible for 3 major pandemics dating back to 430-427 BCE.
Who is susceptible to the plague?
Plague has occurred in people of all ages (infants up to age 96), though 50% of cases occur in people ages 12–45. Worldwide, between 1,000 and 2,000 cases each year are reported to the World Health Organization (WHO), though the true number is likely much higher.
Can human fleas jump?
They normally feed on the blood of animals, but they can also feed on the blood of humans. Fleas don’t have wings, but they have flat bodies and strong legs, which allow them to jump long distances. They travel by jumping from one person or animal to another.
What disease does Pulex irritans cause?
The human flea, Pulex irritans, is a vector for various human diseases including the bubonic plague, bartonellosis, and rickettsioses. Presenting symptoms of flea bites include intensely pruritic, urticarial to vesicular papules on exposed areas of skin.
Why does Pulex irritans important?
The human flea, Pulex irritans, is an important vector in the transmission of human diseases. This flea has been identified as a vector for the bubonic plague as far back as the 14th century, causing millions of deaths.
What is Pulex irritans?
The human flea, Pulex irritans, is widespread globally and has a long association with humans, one of its principal hosts.
What is a plague doctor?
A plague doctor was a physician who treated victims of the bubonic plague during epidemics.These physicians were hired by cities to treat infected patients regardless of income, especially the poor that could not afford to pay. Plague doctors are often depicted in Halloween costumes and seen as a symbol of death and disease.
Is Yersinia pestis in pulex?
Yersinia pestis in Pulex irritans Fleas during Plague Outbreak, Madagascar. To the Editor: Yersinia pestis (family Enterobacteriaceae) is a bacterium that can cause high rates of death in susceptible mammals and can provoke septicemic, pneumonic, and bubonic plague in humans (1).
What diseases can Pulex irritans spread?
Human Flea ( Pulex irritans) One disease that Pulex is known to transmit is murine typhus, a mild form of typhus caused by the bacterium Rickettsia typhi. Feeding on a human who has the disease infects the flea. The bacteria grow in the epithelial cells lining the flea’s gut wall and are excreted in the insect’s feces.