Are flea bites really dangerous to humans? Can a person have fleas - how dangerous are fleas for a person.

Quite a few species of insects choose habitats closer to humans. This is very convenient for them, and not all insects interfere with people, so sometimes they even “coexist” peacefully in the same territory, practically without creating problems for each other.

People have a different attitude towards insect pests. Everyone has to get rid of these. known ways. Uninvited guests may not pose a definite threat to human health. In many ways, their wrecking lies in the fact that they cause damage by destroying food, spoiling interior objects and creating dirt in the apartment. These, for example, include the well-known cockroaches.

But there are insects that do not just settle next to a person. They sit right on it. Unfortunately, a person may not immediately notice the presence of foreign organisms on his body, the presence of which on it can lead to bad consequences concerning possible problems with health.

People treat fleas calmly. Yes, they can plant their presence on the body, but they can be taken out and live on. Little red bites don't mean anything, do they? Fleas are not ticks, so there is nothing to worry about.

Having passed from the larva to the adult stage, fleas begin to search for a source of food. They move mainly by jumping, deftly jumping into the woolen cover of animals. With a body size of 2-4 mm, the height of the flea's jump reaches 20 cm, and the length is 40 cm. Among insects, only pennies surpass fleas with record jumps up to 70 cm in height! This is a hundred times their own height. The body of both species of insects contains resilin - a protein with the ability to accumulate elastic energy, which helps with jumping.

An interesting fact: in proportional terms, for a man 2 meters tall, a flea jump is equivalent to a jump of 48 meters in height and 90 meters in length!

Why are fleas dangerous for humans?

Local allergic reactions

The effects of a flea bite vary in intensity depending on the level of sensitization of the individual.

Sensitization is the acquisition by the human body of increased sensitivity to foreign substances, such as flea bites and irritants contained in their saliva. The time of manifestation of an allergy varies in proportion to the frequency of bites. The body gradually gets used to the saliva of fleas, and with each subsequent bite, the reaction intensifies.

Skin infections

Sometimes flea bites are very itchy, and then secondary skin infections from scratching appear as a result of bacteria entering the bite site. Infections appear as ulcers or abscesses. Children, as well as the elderly with a weakened immune system, are more likely to develop the infection.

Diseases carried by fleas

With the blood of sick animals, fleas receive various pathogens and become carriers of infection. There are two known ways to get infected from fleas: orally - through the contact of insect saliva with human blood, and through infected flea feces.

The danger of contracting infectious diseases does not come from any one type of flea, but a proportion of each species is a threat. The risk to humans is mainly associated with the following types:

human flea
cat flea
dog flea
rat flea
Flea penetrating

Despite numerous Scientific research, knowledge about how fleas carry diseases is still insufficient. But even what is known today makes it clear the seriousness of the threat.

Plague

Plague is an acute infectious disease characterized by severe intoxication, fever, damage to the skin, lungs and other organs. Plague is a deadly disease. The first plague pandemic broke out in 527-565 and claimed more than a hundred million lives. The causative agent of plague, the bacterium Y.pestis, is spread mainly by rodents and hares.

The pathogen is transmitted to humans through the bites of fleas infected by blood-sucking on rodents. On the territory of Russia, foci of plague cover the Caspian lowland, North Caucasus, Gorny Altai, the Republic of Tuva and Transbaikalia. The time from the moment of a flea bite to the onset of signs of the disease is 7-10 days. There are three forms of the disease:

If treatment is started on time, the chances of recovery increase dramatically. But without treatment, the death rate from plague pneumonia reaches 100%.

Typhus

Fleas carry the causative agent of this disease - a bacterium Ricketssia typhii- from gray rats, voles and house mice. A person becomes infected when flea feces come into contact with a damaged area of \u200b\u200bthe skin. The time from penetration into the body of infection to the appearance of signs of the disease varies from 5 to 15 days.

A typical manifestation, as follows from the name of the disease, is a profuse rash on the trunk and upper limbs. The rash is preceded by an increase in body temperature up to 40 degrees. The disease proceeds without complications and, as a rule, is cured. In the photo, a rash on the body is typical for typhus.

Sarcopsillosis (or Tungiosis)

cat scratch fever

Cat-scratch fever or Mollare's granuloma is infection, which in some cases is transmitted by fleas. The causative agent of the disease is the Bartonella bacterium. It is characterized by an increase in lymph nodes, fever and weakness.

Helminths

Dipilidiosis

The causative agent of this helminthiasis is a tapeworm or cucumber tapeworm. Dipilidiosis affects dogs, cats, arctic foxes, foxes and wolves. Humans are infected by accidental ingestion of feline or dog fleas that contain tapeworm larvae. Fleas serve as an intermediate host for worms. In the human intestine, they live in the lower part of the small intestine and mature after 20 days, reaching 70 cm in length and 3 mm in diameter. The average life span of worms is 1 year. In most cases, the disease is asymptomatic.

Signs that often appear in children:

stomach ache,
diarrhea,
loss of appetite
allergic reactions: skin itching, rash
irritability

Hymenolepiasis

The causative agent of the disease is the rat tapeworm (Hymenolepis diminuta), the intermediate host of which is also fleas. The larva swallows the helminth egg, and then a worm develops from the egg inside the flea's body. Then the flea, along with helminths, accidentally enters the person's mouth, and he becomes infected. This happens with children, as they tend to put everything in their mouths. The disease proceeds inconspicuously, in rare cases, depending on the number of helminths in the intestines, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, diarrhea, itching of the anus and weight loss appear. The rat tapeworm reaches 60 cm in length.

Representatives of this detachment can be found almost everywhere. Even in the countries of Africa, even North or South America, no difference. They are too durable. Even crushing an ordinary flea is not the easiest task, since it has a special morphological structure. The body is "flattened" on the sides, so that it can move unnoticed along the hairline. Strong, powerful legs provide the ability to evade pursuit. The jump range of an adult is half a meter. In terms of body size, this is comparable to a person who, from a prone position, with a height of 180 centimeters, jumps forward on 180 meters. Fantasy!

Good survival of the species provides "unpretentiousness" to food. Adult individuals that cannot find a prey of the desired family can easily feed on the blood of another living creature. A striking example is rat fleas, which are not averse to feasting on human fluid. The only time they are easily vulnerable is when they feed on the skin.

Flea species

There are a lot of representatives of this family. Various sources there are about 150 species. The most popular and common among them:

feline. It is clear from the name that mainly cats and cats suffer from them. They can pick up such a nuisance by walking down the street, especially on hot days, or from other animals. They cause a lot of trouble to the pet, causing him to constantly itch, which changes the structure of the coat, deprives him of appetite and sleep. When combing, redness can be seen, similar to an allergic reaction, and small grains, more like dandruff, these are insect eggs.
canine. The method of infection and manifestations are in many ways similar to the above species. The dog constantly itches, tries to pick out pests with his teeth, gets restless sleep, loses his appetite and, possibly, a manifestation of dermatitis, which is very difficult to cure.
Rat. One of the most annoying types of fleas, as it is present wherever there are mice and rats. Due to the lifestyle of these animals, insects become carriers of a huge number of diseases and infections.
human. They prefer to feed on human blood, but in which case they can easily adapt to other animals, which ensures high level survival. Not to be confused with lice. They even have common features but they are completely different insects.

The diseases they carry

Fleas are capable of carrying pathogens of 3 dozen serious diseases. In epidemics, they are considered the main distributors of the source of infection. Many of them are deadly to humans. These diseases include:

Typhus.
Anthrax.
Plague.
Salmonellosis.
Trypanosomiasis.
Tularemia.
Encephalitis.

In addition, there is a large number of other diseases that cannot lead to mortality, but cause pain and discomfort to their owner. These include:

Fungal infections.
Tape worms.
Listeriosis.
Salmonellosis.

The likelihood that any particular individual is a carrier of infection is very small. But you need to be afraid of them, because in addition to epidemiological diseases, they also carry fungal diseases, salmonellosis and others.

Looking at the history, you can understand how dangerous these animals are. Died during the bubonic plague 60 million people. These are colossal numbers. In Europe, this infection came from China, along with ship rats and fleas that lived on them.

Bite symptoms

Itching after such an attack is more pronounced than after mosquito bites. Also, the main place subject to attacks by these insects is the leg in the shin area, up to the knee. In this case, one insect can produce several bites at once, with a distance of up to 2-3 centimeters. By these three parameters, you can easily determine what exactly turned out to be the source of unpleasant pain.

Prevention

The main way to avoid getting infected with any infections transmitted through these insects is to prevent their occurrence and reproduction. For this, it is necessary to carry out once a week general cleaning at home or in offices. It is good to clean all corners in the room and it is advisable to treat with disinfectants. If there are carpets in the house, it will be good to “knock out” them on the street at least once a month.

Special conditions for pets. To avoid the appearance of fleas in them, you need to consult a doctor - a veterinarian who will give recommendations and suggest the drugs necessary to prevent the appearance of insects.

Fleas - blood-sucking insects that live on cats and dogs. This is the view that most people have. However, this is far from full list flea habitat. On the territory of our country there are more than 60 species. There are about 2,000 worldwide. These small creatures can carry over 25 diseases. Among them, there are even those that pose a danger to human life.

They mainly feed on the blood of a certain animal. For example, a rat does not linger on a dog, but a dog on cats. However, often due to certain circumstances, all of them can bite a person.

dog fleas

chicken fleas

rat fleas

human

Small brownish-black creatures. They feed on human blood, but do not disdain animals.

earthy

Earth or basement creatures. Habitat shaded areas, basements, windowless rooms, attics, upper layer soil. You can become infected with them when you stay on the ground for a long time during outdoor recreation or when visiting certain places.

What is the danger

Plague;
Encephalitis;
Anthrax;
Typhus;
Listeriosis;
salmonellosis;
Fungal infections;
Tape worms.

Fleas are attracted not only by healthy creatures, but also by sick, and sometimes dead ones. In this regard, multiple infections, bacteria and viruses cling. During a bite, infected saliva enters the human body. First of all, it picks up the blood and spreads throughout the body.

If you become a victim of canine or, the likelihood of contracting tularemia or typhoid is somewhat reduced. Since the habitat of pests, these species of animals.

If a person has been bitten by rat flea beetles, the risk is greatly increased. Since these animals do not differ in cleanliness, they climb through trash cans, water pipes, accumulations of all sorts of rubbish and indecent things. They can eat dead meat. Hence the high risk of getting serious illnesses. During an epidemic, rats are the first to carry the infection. By means of small bloodsuckers they infect people. The causative agents of plague do not lose their pathogenic effect in the body of the flea until the end of its life. But they do not pass the infection to their offspring.

Not less than dangerous diseases carried by birds. Since in search of food they can be in a variety of places. Free birds transmit infected pests to domestic chickens. Due to the activity of fleas, human infection occurs.

In the body of fleas, pathogens persist for a long time:

brucellosis;
myxomatosis;
tularemia;
pseudotuberculosis;
pasteurellosis;
melioidosis;
anthrax.

How to protect yourself from attack

If you study what diseases these creatures transmit, it becomes uncomfortable. After all, these insects are very close. To protect yourself from them, you need to keep an eye on pets, birds. Take immediate action to eliminate them. Ensure cleanliness and order in the house. Create unfavorable conditions for existence.

Unfortunately, this is a misconception. In fact, the danger of fleas is that they are the causative agents of an incredible number of ailments and carriers of various infections.

To get rid of fleas and lice, our readers advise the Pest-Reject repeller. The operation of the device is based on the technology of electro-magnetic pulses and ultrasonic waves! Absolutely safe, ecological product for humans and pets.

does not have a rich hairline;
low body temperature (lower than in animals);
compliance with hygiene standards.

So do not contact them(and especially with painful-looking individuals), because they are carriers of diseases (for example, salmonellosis).

During World War II, the Japanese used fleas as bacteriological weapon which killed about half a million people.

Are bites harmful to humans?

If you comb the bites, then damage to the skin is possible, which can provoke an infection into the bloodstream. And this can lead to the appearance of purulent wounds which, if left untreated, will turn into ulcers.

Bites can also provoke psychological problems cause insomnia and lead to neurosis. For children, flea attacks are even more dangerous because they are more susceptible to them. So, bites can cause: