NPR: fleas https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=452601434 fleas en Copyright 2024 NPR - For Personal Use Only Story API Shim 1.2.24 Tue, 06 May 2025 23:03:26 -0400 https://media.npr.org/images/podcasts/primary/npr_generic_image_300.jpg?s=200 NPR: fleas https://www.npr.org/tags/452601434/fleas Don't just blame rat fleas. Lice may have helped spread 'black death' plague The mystery: How did bubonic plague spread so rapidly? Could rat fleas have done it all? A new study points the finger at lice as possible accomplices. Mon, 03 Jun 2024 09:37:37 -0400 https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2024/05/30/g-s1-1808/bubonic-plague-black-death-middle-ages-lice-rat-fleas https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2024/05/30/g-s1-1808/bubonic-plague-black-death-middle-ages-lice-rat-fleas Yersinia pestis infection — that's the cause of the plague — depicted in orange/red in the glands.
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The mystery: How did bubonic plague spread so rapidly? Could rat fleas have done it all? A new study points the finger at lice as possible accomplices.

(Image credit: plague)

]]> Ari Daniel Kitten Conundrum: Cat-Scratch Disease Is Making People Sicker Doctors have long thought that cat-scratch disease is no big deal, but an analysis finds that more people are getting sicker from it. Small children are especially at risk, as are people in the South. Thu, 15 Sep 2016 11:37:00 -0400 https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/09/15/493920785/dont-kiss-that-kitty-cat-scratch-fever-is-making-people-sicker https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/09/15/493920785/dont-kiss-that-kitty-cat-scratch-fever-is-making-people-sicker

Doctors have long thought that cat-scratch disease is no big deal, but an analysis finds that more people are getting sicker from it. Small children are especially at risk, as are people in the South.

(Image credit: Sara Lynn Paige)

]]> Erin Ross What's The Scariest Halloween Costume Of Them All? It's a bloodsucking creature. But it's not a vampire. Or a vampire bat. Here's a look at the eight deadliest animals on Earth (and a costume primer). Thu, 29 Oct 2015 17:15:00 -0400 https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/10/29/452900072/whats-the-scariest-halloween-costume-of-them-all https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/10/29/452900072/whats-the-scariest-halloween-costume-of-them-all

It's a bloodsucking creature. But it's not a vampire. Or a vampire bat. Here's a look at the eight deadliest animals on Earth (and a costume primer).

(Image credit: Ben de la Cruz)

]]> Susan Brink Fleas Are Great! But Watch Out For A Worm That Looks Like Vermicelli In honor of Halloween, NPR gets a guided tour of parasites that reside in London's Natural History Museum. Wed, 28 Oct 2015 17:47:00 -0400 https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/10/28/452600395/fleas-are-great-but-watch-out-for-a-worm-that-looks-like-vermicelli https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/10/28/452600395/fleas-are-great-but-watch-out-for-a-worm-that-looks-like-vermicelli

In honor of Halloween, NPR gets a guided tour of parasites that reside in London's Natural History Museum.

]]> Ari Shapiro