Flea-borne typhus surges across LA County with 90% of cases requiring hospitalization

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Los Angeles County is experiencing a record number of flea-borne typhus cases, and nearly 90% of patients have had to be hospitalized.

Typhus is a bacterial disease spread by infected fleas. Symptoms range from mild to potentially deadly. Health officials say it’s so widespread, you can be at risk whether you have a pet or not.

“These cases have been rising year after year. They’re occurring in all areas of our county,” said Medical Epidemiologist Dr. Aiman Halai with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

In 2025, 220 typhus infections were recorded in L.A. County, which is up from 187 cases in 2024. Halai said 90% of residents bitten by contaminated fleas ended up in the hospital.

“Some patients can develop severe illnesses in which multiple organ systems can be involved and really can result in death as well,” she said.

Halai said symptoms – like fever, headache, nausea, body aches, vomiting and rash – can start one to two weeks after a flea bite.

One bit of good news is that typhus is not transmitted from person to person. Infected fleas tend to live on rats, free roaming cats and possums. If your dog or cat spends a lot of time outdoors and gets exposed, they don’t have to show any signs of illness for you to get sick.

“The fleas can be infected and can live on your pet, even though they’re well, so you can still be at risk of contracting the disease,” said Halai.

To protect yourself, health officials suggest you protect your pets, use flea control year round and stay away from stray animals. Don’t handle them or feed them.

“Don’t leave any pet food outside. Make sure the vegetation around our homes is trimmed, making sure there’s no bulky items where these animals can hide or crawl spaces where rodents can live,” said Halai.

Also, secure your outdoor trash bins. Halai said it’s mostly the severe cases that have been documented, but it’s likely many more local cases have occurred but haven’t been counted.

Typhus transmitted through fleas generally requires prompt antibiotic treatment like doxycycline to prevent severe complications. Last year, county investigators looked into three local outbreaks in Central L.A., Santa Monica and the unincorporated neighborhood of Willowbrook.