Pet owners, beware: Flea-borne typhus is on the rise in parts of Southern California.
The good news is there are several commonsense ways to protect your pet and yourself from getting infected.
A flea becomes infected when it bites rats, opossums and stray cats that are carrying the disease. The disease is caused by Rickettsia typhi bacteria, which can be spread to humans when feces from infected fleas is rubbed into cuts or scrapes on the skin or into the eyes…