RT Journal
T1 THe biting of man by rat fleas in relation to plague
JF Journal of the American Medical Association
JO Journal of the American Medical Association
YR 1909
FD March 13
VO LII
IS 11
SP 894
OP 895
DO 10.1001/jama.1909.02540370052009
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.1909.02540370052009
AB Recent investigations in India and elsewhere have demonstrated beyond doubt that fleas play an important rôle in the transmission of plague from rats to man, and they have especially implicated the common rat flea of India (Pulex pallidus), although the Ceratophyllus fasciatus has also been shown to be capable of conveying the infection. The importance of the flea as an agent in the dissemination of plague has rendered necessary a more thorough study of these insects.Since 1907 the U. S. Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service1 has collected and identified fleas from different ports, particularly in connection with antiplague measures. These studies have demonstrated that the Pulex pallidus is commonly found in our country, and that it has a wide distribution. Fox has shown that the Ceratophyllus fasciatus and Pulex pallidus are the fleas most commonly found on rats in San Fran cisco, their relative proportions at some seasons