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Pet owners, beware: Flea-borne typhoid is increasing in parts of Southern California.
The good news is that there are several common sense ways to protect your pet and yourself from infecting them.
Fleas become infected when biting disease-carrying rats, opossums, and stray cats. The disease is caused by the germ Rickettsia feralis, which can spread to humans when feces from infected fleas are rubbed into skin amputations or rubbed against abrasions.
In the United States, most cases occur in Texas, California and Hawaii, according to the California Department of Public Health.
The disease occurs year-round in the Los Angeles and Orange Counties areas, but cases tend to peak during the late summer and fall.
So far, Los Angeles County has reported 79 cases in Los Angeles County, according to the county’s Department of Public Health. For all last year, there was a total of 187 cases in the county, with 124 cases estimated in 2023.
Long Beach City has reported 20 cases, jumping from 12 in the same period in 2024 as of July 31. The city reports an average of 20 cases each year, and “if this trend continues, Long Beach is expected to surpass the 2021 record of 28 cases reported in a year,” according to the city’s Department of Health and Human Services.
At least 75% of people sick in Long Beach were hospitalized, and all recovered.
People at risk of flea-borne typhoid infection
Although the disease was prevalent in the area, touching rats, opossums, and stray cats, or contacting pets, is at the highest risk of typhoid ingestion from infected fleas.
Even if the disease is not spreading in your neighborhood, public health experts say you should still be away from animals that can carry infected fleas.
People living outdoors or in homes that have been invaded by rats and other rodents are also at risk of developing illness.
How to keep fleas and diseases away
State and local public health experts will provide the following guidance on how to prevent fleas from clinging to your pet and protecting your home.
To keep infected fleas away from pets, keep them indoors and treat them regularly with flea prevention medication.
Avoid constantly covering your garbage cans and attracting stray cats and rodents carrying infected fleas. Don’t leave trash or your pet food outside as you can seduce animals in your home.
Do not be friends or feed in a neighborhood that could become a carrier for infected fleas.
It will help prevent infected fleas and small animals from entering or living in your property by cleaning up overgrown vegetation and disturbances. If your home has openings or crawl spaces, seal them down.
These are symptoms and treatment of typhus
Symptoms of flea-borne typhoid include fever, headaches, chills, muscle pain, and rashes on the chest, sides and back.
Swelling can occur with swelling (meningitis) or heart valves (endocarditis), although rare, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Although disease deaths are rare, they occur in Los Angeles County. In 2022, three people died from flea-borne typhoid. All victims were adults with underlying medical conditions.
If you have symptoms of the disease, contact your healthcare provider immediately for treatment.
Flea-borne typhoid can be treated with antibiotics.
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