Siphonaptera/ Flea

• Flea:
Flea is the common name for insects of
the order Siphonaptera which are wingless
insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin
and sucking blood. Fleas are external parasites,
living by hematophagy off the blood of mammals
(including bats and humand) and birds.
• External morphology
• Life cycle
• Public health importance
• Tunga penetrans
• Control measures
• External morphology:
• Fleas are small insects 1.5 to 3 mm long.
• Fleas have dark colored body Ex. reddish brown cat
fleas.
• Fleas don’t have wings.
• Mouth parts are tube like adapted for piercing and
sucking.
• Legs are long and hind legs are adapted for jumping.
• Bodies are laterally compressed to permit easy
movement through the hairs or feathers of hosts.
• Flea body is covered with hairs and short spines
directed backwards.
• External covering of body is hard.
• Females have a downward sloping abdomen whereas
males have an upward pointed abdomen.
• Life cycle:
• Egg:
The flea life cycle begins when the female lay eggs
after feeding. At one time female fleas lay 40 to 50
eggs. The eggs are 1-2 mm in size with oval shape
and white color. The eggs are hatched in 2-12 days,
which then turns into larva.
• Larva:
Larva emerges from the egg which feeds on any
available organic matter. The larva looks like a small,
white caterpillar or maggot with a dark, anterior-to-
centrally located core visible region stomach. The
larva feeds on faeces of the host, small dead insects
and undigested blood expelled by adult fleas etc. The
larvae avoid direct sunlight and keep to dark places
such as beddings, cracks etc. The larval stage lasts
from 9-15 days.
• Pupa:
After three larval stages within 1 - 2 weeks (or even
months) larvae turns into the next stage called
pupae. At this stage pupae weave silken cocoons. In
another 1-2 weeks the pupae will hatch when
stimulated by body heat of host, motion, breath
carbon dioxide.
• Adult Flea:
Once the pupa becomes adult it finds host for food
(blood). Within 48 hours of the first feed the female
is ready for reproduction and laying eggs to begin life
cycle again. The total life span of adult fly is as long
as one year in ideal conditions.
• Public health importance:
Apart from heavy infestations and other diseases flea
bites may cause irritation and sometimes extreme
discomforts.
• Diseases:
Cat scratch disease:
Cat-scratch disease (CSD), also known as cat-scratch
fever is a common infectious disease caused by
a bacterium Bartonella spp. It is caused by a scratch
or bite from a cat infected by Bartonella bacterium
which is transmitted to cats by fleas.
• Murine Typhus:
It is a disease caused by bacterium Rickettsia species
and spread by fleas. In this disease lymph nodes of
infected person are swollen.
• Bubonic plague:
It is a disease caused by bacteria Yersinia species. In
this disease the armpits and groins of an infected
person has tumors. This disease can be transmitted
by bites from fleas infected by rodents.
• Tapeworms:
Another disease or condition that fleas can give to
humans and pets, is a flea tapeworm. Fleas act like
the hosts of tapeworms eggs, and infected fleas can
pass these tapeworms to humans when they feed off
their blood.
• Tunga penetrans:
Tunga penetrans also called chigoe flea or jigger, is a
parasitic arthropod with about 1 mm length. It is the
smallest known flea in the world. The chigoe flea lives
in soil and sand, and feeds intermittently on warm-
blooded hosts, such as humans, cattle, sheep, dogs,
rats etc. The tunga penetrans causes a skin
inflammation disease called tungiasis. Breeding female
chigoes burrow into exposed skin of the feet of
mammals and remain there for two weeks while
developing eggs, during which time they swell causing
intense irritation, pain and lesions at the site of
infection. In severe cases secondary infections with loss
of nails, deformation of toes can also be observed.
• Control measures:
Chemical control:
Infestations can be controlled by spraying or dusting
insecticides into cracks and crevices, corners of
rooms and areas where fleas and their larvae are
likely to occur. Insecticides can also be applied to
clothing and the fur of animals. Fumigant canisters
that produce aerosols of quick-acting insecticides
(e.g. the pyrethroids, propoxur and bendiocarb) kill
fleas directly and are convenient to use.
• Individual self-protection:
For protection from flees insecticides can be flea
repellent chemicals can be applied to the skin or
clothes can be dusted with insecticide powders or
washed in hot water to achieve self protection from
fleas.
• Hygienic measures:
Fleas and their eggs, larvae and cocoons can be
effectively removed by keeping houses well swept
and floors washed. The treatment of floors with
detergents, insecticides or a solution of naphthalene
in benzene can be used for cleaning.
Thank You