Factsheets about disease vectors
Fleas can transmit plague (caused by Yersinia pestis), murine typhus (caused by Rickettsia typhi), flea-borne spotted fever (Rickettsia felis), and cat scratch disease (Bartonella henselae).
Lice (Phthiraptera) are a very diverse group of insects, exclusively adapted to parasitism. Several thousand species have been described to date.
A number of sand fly species are present in Europe and in recent years, their range has increased. They are vectors of human and canine leishmaniasis, and sand fly fevers caused by phleboviruses.