Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fleas (Class Siphonaptera) are another family of insects that draw blood.
Fleas carry a variety of infectious organisms. Fleas are vectors for bacteria:
Yersinia pestis (plague), Rickettsia typhi (endemic typhus), Rickettsia felis
(endemic typhus), Bartonella henselae (bacillary angiomatosis, infectious
peliosis hepatis, cat-scratch disease, bartonellosis). Fleas are an intermediate
host for Hymenolepis diminuta, a rare cause of human tapeworm disease
(hymenolepiasis). Despite early speculation, fleas are not carriers of the
HIV/AIDS virus.
With one exception, fleas do not live on or in humans. The exception is
tungiasis, a skin disease caused by Tunga penetrans (alternately known as
chigoe, jigger, and nigua), a very small flea. Female fleas burrow into the
skin, producing intense localized inflammation and pain. The skin lesion is
characterized by a black dot surrounded by edematous and erythematous
(red) skin. The disease occurs in Africa, South America, and the Caribbean,
where the infection rate can be very high (about 50% of the population in
endemic areas such as Nigeria, Brazil, and Trinidad).
Infectious species:
Cimex lectularius, bedbug (bedbug bites)
Siphonaptera species (flea bites)
Pediculus humanus, head louse (pediculosis)
Pediculus humanus corporis, body louse (pediculosis)
Phthirus pubis (crab louse, pubic louse)
Cochliomyia hominivorax (screw-worm myiasis)
Calliphoridae species (blowfly myiasis)
Sarcophagidae species (flesh-fly myiasis)
Dermatobia hominis (human botfly myiasis)
Tunga penetrans (tungiasis, nigua)
