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War_Hymn t1_j51nuo0 wrote

Reply to comment by Rear-gunner in The Black Death may not have been spread by rats after all by Rear-gunner

I don't think fleas really care if they jump and feed on a human or rat. Especially given that the bubonic plague stem from wild marmots, not rats, from Mongolia in the first place.

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letsgetawayfromhere t1_j52be4d wrote

Actually they do. Fleas usually specialize in the mammal (or group of closely related mammals) they feed on. They can survive feeding on other mammals instead, but they will lose fertility to the point of becoming completely infertile. So fleas will always try and stick to “their”mammal if they can.

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