flea The human flea Pulex irritans (top) prefers to bite people and thrives where they don’t bathe or wash their clothes. (Plague can spread from person to person through an infected individual’s cough or vomit.) Scientists have been trying to figure out, though, which route was most responsible for the Black Death. Or they can catch it from another person. They can be bitten by a human flea carrying the plague. They can be bitten by a rat flea that’s carrying plague. People can become infected with the plague in three different ways. “It’s amazing that it can live with so many hosts and in different places.” Often, that next entrée is another rodent. These fleas then spread those bacteria when they bite the next critter on their menu. Later, when fleas bite those rodents, they slurp up the germs. They serve as hosts in which these germs can survive. These animals can then form a reservoir for the plague. The plague’s species “persists mostly because the rodents don’t get sick,” she explains. Explainer: Animals’ role in human disease
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