n. a genus of fleas. The common rat flea of temperate regions, N. fasciatus, will, in the absence of rats, bite humans and may therefore transmit plague or murine typhus from an infected rat population. The rat flea is also an intermediate host for the larval stage of two tapeworms, *Hymenolepis diminuta and H. nana.
n. a small wingless bloodsucking insect with a laterally compressed body and long legs adapted for jumping. Adult fleas are temporary parasites on birds and mammals and those species that attack humans (*Pulex, *Xenopsylla, and *Nosopsyllus) may be important in the transmission of various diseases. Their bites are not only a nuisance but may become a focus of infection. Appropriate insecticide powders are used to destroy fleas in the home.... flea
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