Who would have thought it? A cuddly toy in the shape of a virus! These cuddly characters are incredibly endearing and educational too. Each one comes with a detailed scientific description and photograph of what he looks like under the microscope, along with medical tips on how to avoid picking up these bugs in daily life. Children seem to be totally fascinated by them, and it really helps when explaining all about why they are feeling poorly. The perfect gift to accompany a Get Well card. Also a brilliant present for medical students, doctors and nurses etc. You will soon understand why they are becoming amazingly popular! Start collecting now. Facts: The flea's diminutive size has made it a global symbol of insignificance. But as carriers of typhus and tapeworms - not to mention bubonic plague - fleas will not be ignored . One of the original subjects of microscopic examination (early micropes were called "flea glasses"), fleas can now boast of nearly 3,000 identified species. The most comonly encountered is the cat flea, Ctenocephalides Felis, but despite it's name, it is broad-minded with respect to hosts and will happily affix itself to dogs - as well as their best friends! If you encounter a flea, thorough vacuuming twice a day for several weeks is recomended. A single flea can lay hundreds of eggs, so you don't want to miss any. (And if you do, call for help: proffessional exterminators should be albe to handle the problem.) Of course, fleas are hardly all-work-and- no-play: they have the noted abilities to jump hundreds of times their own weight. These remarkable skills probably account for the creation of circuses designed to highlight other remarkable flea-talents such as playing in an orchestra, dancing, juggling, fencing and a variety of other diverting activities. So if all else fails, send in the clowns.