Yellow

Yellow fever is an acute viral disease. It is known to be caused by the Yellow fever virus and is spread through the bite of an infected female mosquito. Yellow fever can lead to serious illness and even death. It is named for the jaundice that affects some patients.

Symptoms and Transmission

Symptoms of yellow fever include fever, headache, jaundice, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting and fatigue. A small proportion of patients who contract the virus develop severe symptoms and approximately half of those die within 7 to 10 days.

The virus is endemic in tropical areas of Africa and Central and South America. Large epidemics of yellow fever occur when infected people introduce the virus into heavily populated areas with high mosquito density and where most people have little or no immunity, due to lack of vaccination. In these conditions, infected mosquitoes transmit the virus from person to person.

Prevention and Control

Vaccination is the most important means of preventing yellow fever. The yellow fever vaccine is safe, affordable and a single dose provides life-long protection against yellow fever disease. A booster dose of yellow fever vaccine is not needed.

Other preventive measures against yellow fever include using insect repellent, wearing protective clothing, and getting rid of potential mosquito breeding sites.

Treatment

Good and early supportive treatment in hospitals improves survival rates. There is currently no specific anti-viral drug for yellow fever but specific care to treat dehydration, liver and kidney failure, and fever improves outcomes.

See Also

• Dengue fever
• Zika virus
• Malaria

References

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