FLEAS 155 



and certainly serve to strengthen the soundness of the 

 theory. 



Fleas have also been suspected of bearing some relation 

 to the dread disease, leprosy. The bacilli of leprosy have 

 been found in the intestines of certain fleas, and it seems 

 quite possible that the fleas might carry the bacillus to 

 a human host. However, no definite proof of any re- 

 lation between leprosy and these insects has yet been ad- 

 duced. 



Baker has pointed out that the rat fleas found by him 

 in Cuba are quite closely related to the human flea and 

 might, therefore, bite human beings quite readily. He 

 also found that rats in a leper hospital in Cuba often had 

 sores on them very similar to leprous sores, and argues that 

 the fleas might convey the bacillus from rats to man. 



It has also been found that the dog flea is the inter- 

 mediate host of the dog tapeworm, Taenia canina. When 

 fleas containing the immature stages of the tapeworm 

 were fed to dogs the development of the tapeworm in 

 the dog followed in all cases. 



METHODS OF CONTROL 



It follows from what has been said regarding the kinds 

 of fleas found in houses and their rate of increase that pet 

 dogs and cats must be gotten rid of or must be kept clean 

 and free from these pests. These animals may be kept 

 free from fleas by frequently bathing them in a solution 

 of creolin and by paying special attention to their sleep- 

 ing places. A dog or cat should be provided with a sleep- 

 ing cloth or rug and this should be beaten or shaken at 

 least once a week and hung in the sunlight, if possible, 



