Yellow fever is a viral infection of the genusFlavivirustransmitted by theAedesorHaemagogusmosquito.
The vaccine can prevent infection, but it cannot treat or cure the disease after you grab it.
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Where Did Yellow Fever Originate?
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Yellow fever mosquitoes include theAedesorHaemagogusspecies.
These mosquitoes are primarily found in Africa (Aedes) and South America (Haemagogus).
Yellow fever likely originated in Africa and then spread throughout the Western hemisphere during the slave trade.
How Common Is Yellow Fever?
The mosquitoes live in tropical and subtropical areas of Africa and South America.
Yellow fever rarely affects U.S. travelers to these continents.
If you catch it abroad, you could theoretically spread the disease in your home country.
After that, you may begin experiencing symptoms, although many people don’t have any symptoms at all.
Yellow fever isnot contagious, meaning it causes illness but is not spread from person to person.
Yellow fever symptomsinclude:
Symptoms typically resolve within a few days.
In severe cases, a second phase of the illness begins 24 hours after initial symptoms resolve.
In this phase, body systems like the liver and kidneys are affected.
Severe yellow fever symptoms in this phase include:
Unfortunately, severe yellow fever can be fatal.
There are no booster doses; one shot prevents the disease.
While the yellow fever vaccine prevents it, it does not treat or cure an active infection.
Yellow Fever: Treatment and Self-Management
There is no medicine or cure for yellow fever.
However, for mild cases, at-home comfort measures can help.
These include:
Most people survive yellow fever.
Severe yellow fever occurs in about 15% of infected people.
Of them, it is fatal 30% to 60% of the time.
This indicates a severe infection.
Some medications can increase your risk of bleeding.
These include:
Summary
The mosquitoes that spread yellow fever primarily live in Africa and South America.
They transmit the yellow fever virus by biting human and nonhuman primates.
While the United States has had yellow fever outbreaks, it is no longer a concern.
Rarely will people contract the illness when they travel to places at risk for yellow fever.
Vaccination can prevent yellow fever.
Yellow fever is usually mild, but it can be fatal.
Severe cases occur about 15% of the time.
Of those, it is fatal in 30% to 60% of cases.
World Health Organization.Yellow fever.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Areas with risk of yellow fever in Africa.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Areas with risk of yellow fever in South America.
World Health Organization.Yellow fever: Symptoms.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Yellow fever vaccine.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Yellow fever: Symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Preventing yellow fever.
