Badger flea Badger flea The badger flea ("Paraceras melis") is an external parasite of the European badger ("Meles meles"). It has also been found on the fox ("Vulpes vulpes"), the dog ("Canis familiaris"), the cat ("Felis catus"), the European polecat ("Mustela putorius"), the mole ("Talpa europaea") and the fallow deer ("Dama dama"). The badger flea, like other fleas, is a small, dark brown wingless insect with a tough, chitinous cuticle. Its body is flattened laterally and it has mouthparts designed for sucking the blood of a badger. Like other fleas, the badger flea has a life cycle consisting of an egg, a
Meles Zenawi undergoing treatment in Belgium; however, Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn attributed Meles' absence to a minor illness. A press conference, during which the government planned to clarify Meles' health status, was scheduled for 18 July but postponed until later in the week. While the government acknowledged that Meles had been hospitalised, it stated that his condition was not serious. There were further rumours of his death when he was not seen in public after the 2012 G20 summit and at the time of the death of the head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Abune Paulos. On 20 August, Meles Zenawi