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Yellow fever is a viral infection transmitted by a certain variety of mosquito. The virus is most frequent in Africa and South America, where it affects both visitors and natives.
Yellow fever produces fever, headache, nausea, and vomiting in moderate instances. Yellow fever, on the other hand, can grow more serious, causing heart, liver, and kidney problems as well as bleeding. Up to 50% of those who contract the more severe form of yellow fever die from the disease.
Yellow fever has no specific therapy. Getting a yellow fever vaccine before traveling to a location where the virus is known to present, on the other hand, can protect you from the disease.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF YELLOW FEVER?
During the first three to six days after contracting yellow fever (the incubation period), you will have no signs or symptoms. Following this, the infection enters an acute phase and, in some cases, a toxic phase that can be fatal.
Acute phase
When the infection enters the acute phase, you may encounter the following signs and symptoms:
- Fever
- Headache
- Muscle pain, especially in the back and knees
- Light sensitivity
- Vomiting, nausea, or both
- Appetite loss
- Dizziness
- Redness in the eyes, face, or tongue
These signs and symptoms normally improve and disappear within a few days.
Toxic phase
Although signs and symptoms may fade for a day or two after the acute phase, some persons with acute yellow fever progress to the toxic phase. During the toxic phase, acute symptoms reappear, as do more severe and life-threatening ones. These are some examples:
- Yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice)
- Vomiting and abdominal pain, occasionally with blood
- Reduced urination
- Bleeding from the nose, mouth, or eyes
- Slow heart rate
- Failures of the liver and kidneys
- Brain malfunction, such as delirium, seizures, and coma
Yellow fever's toxic phase can be lethal.
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF YELLOW FEVER?
Yellow fever is caused by a virus that is spread by the mosquito Aedes aegypti. These mosquitos flourish in and around human settlements, breeding in even the purest water. Yellow fever is most common in Sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America.
The yellow fever virus is most usually found in humans and monkeys. Mosquitoes spread the virus between monkeys, humans, and both.
When a yellow fever-infected mosquito bites a human or a monkey, the virus enters the mosquito's bloodstream and circulates before resting in the salivary glands. When an infected mosquito bites another monkey or person, the virus enters the host's bloodstream and has the potential to cause sickness.
WHAT ARE THE RISK FACTORS FOR YELLOW FEVER?
If you travel to a location where mosquitos continue to transmit the yellow fever virus, you may be at risk. Sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America are among these regions.
Even if there are no recent reports of infected persons in certain places, you are still at risk. It's possible that local populations have been immunized and are immune to the disease, or that cases of yellow fever have simply not been identified and reported.
If you plan on visiting these places, you can protect yourself by getting a yellow fever vaccine at least several weeks in advance.
Anyone can become infected with the yellow fever virus, although elderly people are more likely to become critically ill.
WHAT ARE THE COMPLICATIONS OF YELLOW FEVER?
Yellow fever kills 20% to 50% of people who develop the severe form of the disease. Complications of a yellow fever infection during the toxic phase include kidney and liver failure, jaundice, delirium, and coma.
People who survive the infection normally recover gradually over several weeks to months, with no severe organ damage. A person may develop weariness and jaundice during this time. Secondary bacterial infections, such as pneumonia or blood infections, are also possible consequences.
HOW IS YELLOW FEVER DIAGNOSED?
Yellow fever can be difficult to diagnose purely on signs and symptoms since the illness can be easily confused with malaria, typhoid, dengue fever, and other viral hemorrhagic fevers early in its course.
In order to diagnose your disease, your doctor will most likely:
- Inquire about your medical and travel history.
- Take a blood sample for testing.
If you have yellow fever, the virus may be found in your blood. If not, blood testing can reveal antibodies and other virus-specific chemicals.
WHAT ARE THE TREATMENTS FOR YELLOW FEVER?
No antiviral drugs have been found to be effective in the treatment of yellow fever. As a result, treatment in a hospital consists mostly of supportive care. This includes giving fluids and oxygen, keeping blood pressure stable, replacing blood loss, delivering dialysis for kidney failure, and treating any additional infections that arise. Some people undergo plasma transfusions to replace blood proteins that aid in clotting.
If you have yellow fever, your doctor would probably advise you to stay inside and away from mosquitoes to avoid spreading the sickness to others. You will be immune to yellow fever for the rest of your life if you have experienced it.
HOW CAN YELLOW FEVER BE PREVENTED?
Vaccine
Yellow fever can be prevented with a highly effective vaccine. Yellow fever is known to exist in portions of Sub-Saharan Africa and South America. If you live in one of these places, consult your doctor to determine whether you require the yellow fever vaccine. If you intend to visit these places, consult with your doctor at least 10 days, preferably three to four weeks, before your trip. Some nations require passengers to provide a valid immunization certificate upon admission.
A single dose of yellow fever vaccination provides at least ten years of protection. Headaches, low-grade fevers, muscle pain, exhaustion, and soreness at the injection site are common side effects that last five to ten days. More serious responses, such as developing a state similar to yellow fever, brain inflammation, or death, can occur, most commonly in infants and the elderly. The vaccine is deemed safer for people aged 9 months to 60 years.
Consult your doctor about whether the yellow fever vaccine is acceptable if your kid is under 9 months old, you have a weaker immune system, you are pregnant, or you are over the age of 60.
Mosquito protection
In addition to taking the vaccine, you can help protect yourself from yellow fever by avoiding mosquito bites.
To limit your mosquito exposure, do the following:
- Avoid needless outside activities during mosquito season.
- When going into mosquito-infested areas, wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants.
- Keep to air-conditioned or well-screened accommodations.
- Use bed nets if your accommodations do not have good window screens or air conditioning. Pre-treated insecticide-treated nets provide additional protection.
Use both of the following repellents to keep mosquitos away:
- Nonskin repellent: Use permethrin-based mosquito repellent on your clothing, shoes, camping gear, and bed netting. Permethrin-treated clothing and equipment are available for purchase. Permethrin is not meant to be applied to the skin.
- Skin repellent: Long-lasting skin protection is provided by products containing the active chemicals DEET, IR3535, or picaridin. Choose the concentration based on the number of hours of protection required. Higher concentrations, in general, persist longer.
Remember that chemical repellents can be hazardous, so use only what you need for the duration you'll be outside. DEET should not be used on young children's hands or on infants under the age of two months. Instead, when you're out and about, cover your infant's stroller or playpen with mosquito netting.
When applied in identical amounts, oil of lemon eucalyptus, a more natural substance, provides the same protection as DEET, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, these items should not be used on children under the age of three.