Ectoparasites are organisms that live on the outer surfaces of another organism, its host, and which don’t subsidize the host’s survival. Parasites in humans include a variety of worms and protozoa that infect humans, creating parasitic diseases. Parasites in humans are divided into endo-parasites which cause infections in the body and ectoparasites which cause infection within the skin.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC states that of all infections due to parasites in America, approximately 90% of these are due to protozoa. The World Health Organization or WHO have estimated that protozoan cause 12 million disease cases worldwide. The body acts as a host for 100 different parasites, many which an individual might not even be aware of. Of the Ectoparasites type ticks, fleas and mites are types of parasites that might infect a human. These Ectoparasites infect humans by tunneling into the skin and feeding on the blood of the host.

Murine typhus is a bacterial infection spread by fleas, or lice and creates symptoms such as: nausea and vomiting; abdominal pain; headache; dull red rash; and high fever.

Treatment consists of antibiotic therapy with doxycycline or tetracycline. The National Institutes of Health report that the death rate for murine typhus that is untreated is less than 2%.