Fleas are tiny, biting pest that jump from one host to the other and can spread disease each time it bites. Fleas can carry tapeworm larvae and they can cause an allergic reaction in people and pets when they bite. Fleas can also cause other serious health conditions such as anemia in your pet and they can spread the plague in animals and humans.

The plague, also called “Black Death,” during the Middle Ages killed approximately 30 million people in Europe. During the 19th century the plagued killed over 12 million people in China. In the 21st century, thanks to better living conditions, antibiotics, and improved sanitation, the World Health Organization statistics show there were 2,118 cases in 2003 worldwide.

What is the plague? The plague is an infectious disease of animals and humans caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. People can get plague from being bitten by a flea that is carrying the plague bacterium, by handling an infected animal, or by exposure to humans or animals with plague pneumonia. If left untreated, bubonic plague bacteria can quickly multiply in the bloodstream, causing septicemic plague, or even progress to the lungs, causing pneumonic plague. The plague is usually transmitted between rodents and to other animals by fleas; however, the disease can be transmitted to humans through a flea’s bite as well. In North America, the plague has occurred in 15 western states, and on the US borders with southwestern Canada and northern Mexico. The plague can be found in warm climates, low in precipitation, or areas with long dry seasons.

Where have outbreaks occurred? Plague is rare in the United States, but has been known to occur in parts of California, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. Outbreaks in people occur in areas where housing and sanitation conditions are poor. These outbreaks can occur in rural communities or in cities. They are usually associated with infected rats and rat fleas that live in or near homes. Risk factors for plague include a recent flea bite and exposure to rodents, especially, rats, mice, rabbits, squirrels, or prairie dogs, or scratches or bites from infected domestic cats.

How serious are the health issues? Human plague in the US occurs most often in rural areas at an average of 5 to 15 cases per year. Most cases in the US occur during the warmer months of the year but cases can occur during any month of the year. About 14% of all plague cases in the United States are fatal.

Two to 6 days after being bitten by a diseased flea, a person can become ill with bubonic plague. If bubonic plague is left untreated, the plague bacteria can invade the bloodstream and spread rapidly throughout the body, causing a severe and often fatal condition called septicemic plague. Infection of the lungs with the plague bacterium causes the pneumonic form of plague, which often causes, high fever, chills, cough, and breathing difficulties in the infected person. Although pneumonic plague may occur as a consequence of untreated bubonic or septicemic plague, it also can result from inhaling infectious respiratory droplets (from a cough) or other materials infected with the disease (infected rat carcass). If plague patients are not given specific antibiotic therapy, the disease can progress rapidly to death.

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