Attention pet mother and father: Los Angeles County is reporting a record variety of flea-borne typhus instances.
Public well being officers are warning pet homeowners to take precautions for themselves and their four-legged members of the family. Fret not: There are a number of easy precautions you possibly can take to stop a flea-borne typhus an infection.
The Los Angeles County Public Health Department recognized 220 instances of flea-borne typhus final 12 months, a stark enhance over the 187 cases in 2024.
Of the whole variety of instances in 2025, practically 9 out of 10 individuals contaminated with typhus required hospitalization, based on public well being officers.
Flea-borne typhus is attributable to the bacterium Rickettsia typhi. Fleas change into contaminated once they chunk contaminated animals similar to rats, stray cats or opossums, based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Once contaminated, the flea spreads the illness to people when flea feces is rubbed into cuts or scrapes on the pores and skin or the eyes.
The variety of typhus instances in the county has increased since 2021, when there have been 141 recorded instances, rising to 171 in 2022. There was a slight lower in 2023 with 124 instances, however the quantity picked again up in 2024.
Typhus hot spots in Los Angeles County
Cases have been reported throughout Los Angeles County, however authorities recognized three localized outbreaks in 2025.
The outbreaks occurred in central Los Angeles, Santa Monica and the unincorporated neighborhood of Willowbrook close to Compton, based on public well being officers.
Why final 12 months’s numbers matter at the moment
Typhus instances happen year-round however are likely to peak throughout the late summer season and fall months as a result of the hotter weather increases flea activity.
Who is liable to contracting flea-borne typhus
Everyone is liable to contracting typhus.
The ages of the individuals contaminated in Los Angeles in 2025 ranged from 1 to 85, based on public well being officers.
People who dwell open air or in housing infested with rats or different rodents face a excessive threat of contracting the illness, based on public well being officers.
How to guard your self and your pet
Often, individuals are uncovered to the illness when contaminated fleas are carried indoors on pets or different animals.
Fleas that unfold typhus are generally discovered on stray animals, rodents and different wildlife, based on public well being officers.
What you are able to do to guard your self and your pets:
- Use flea management year-round in your pets.
- Don’t feed or pet stray animals.
- Don’t entice wildlife to your property; guarantee the lids of your trash bins are closed and block any entry or hiding factors. Avoid leaving pet meals exterior.
What to do in case you contract typhus
Symptoms seem inside one to 2 weeks after changing into contaminated.
Flea-borne typhus an infection signs embody fever, headache, chills, physique aches and a rash on or round the chest, sides and again.
The illness is treatable with antibiotics, and early prognosis helps forestall extreme sickness and hospitalization.
It’s unusual to die from flea-borne typhus, nevertheless it has occurred in Los Angeles County. In 2022, three people died of the disease; all had been adults with underlying situations.
If you will have any of the typhus signs, attain out to your healthcare supplier immediately.
