Yellow fever

Yellow fever
Other namesYellow jack, yellow plague,[1] bronze john[2]
A TEM micrograph of yellow fever virus (234,000× magnification)
SpecialtyInfectious disease
SymptomsFever, chills, muscle pain, headache, yellow skin[3]
ComplicationsLiver failure, bleeding[3]
Usual onset3–6 days post exposure[3]
Duration3–4 days[3]
CausesYellow fever virus spread by mosquitoes[3]
Diagnostic methodBlood test[4]
PreventionYellow fever vaccine[3]
TreatmentSupportive care[3]
Frequency~130,000 severe cases in Africa alone (2013)[3][5]
Deaths~78,000 in Africa alone (2013)[3][5]

Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration.[3] In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains—particularly in the back—and headaches.[3] Symptoms typically improve within five days.[3] In about 15% of people, within a day of improving the fever comes back, abdominal pain occurs, and liver damage begins causing yellow skin.[3][6] If this occurs, the risk of bleeding and kidney problems is increased.[3][7]

The disease is caused by the yellow fever virus and is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito.[3][8] It infects humans, other primates,[9] and several types of mosquitoes.[3] In cities, it is spread primarily by Aedes aegypti, a type of mosquito found throughout the tropics and subtropics.[3] The virus is an RNA virus of the genus Flavivirus.[10][11] The disease may be difficult to tell apart from other illnesses, especially in the early stages.[3] To confirm a suspected case, blood-sample testing with a polymerase chain reaction is required.[4]

A safe and effective vaccine against yellow fever exists, and some countries require vaccinations for travelers.[3] Other efforts to prevent infection include reducing the population of the transmitting mosquitoes.[3] In areas where yellow fever is common, early diagnosis of cases and immunization of large parts of the population are important to prevent outbreaks.[3] Once a person is infected, management is symptomatic; no specific measures are effective against the virus.[3] Death occurs in up to half of those who get severe disease.[3][12]

In 2013, yellow fever was estimated to have caused 130,000 severe infections and 78,000 deaths in Africa.[3][5] Approximately 90 percent of an estimated 200,000 cases of yellow fever per year occur in Africa.[13] Nearly a billion people live in an area of the world where the disease is common.[3] It is common in tropical areas of the continents of South America and Africa,[14] but not in Asia.[3][15] Since the 1980s, the number of cases of yellow fever has been increasing.[3][16] This is believed to be due to fewer people being immune, more people living in cities, people moving frequently, and changing climate increasing the habitat for mosquitoes.[3]

The disease originated in Africa and spread to the Americas starting in the 17th century with the European trafficking of enslaved Africans from sub-Saharan Africa.[1][17] Since the 17th century, several major outbreaks of the disease have occurred in the Americas, Africa, and Europe.[1] In the 18th and 19th centuries, yellow fever was considered one of the most dangerous infectious diseases; numerous epidemics swept through major cities of the US and in other parts of the world.[1]

In 1927, yellow fever virus became the first human virus to be isolated.[10][18]

  1. ^ a b c d Oldstone M (2009). Viruses, Plagues, and History: Past, Present and Future. Oxford University Press. pp. 102–4. ISBN 978-0-19-975849-4. Archived from the original on 23 February 2017.
  2. ^ Bazin H (2011). Vaccination: a history from Lady Montagu to genetic engineering. Montrouge: J. Libbey Eurotext. p. 407. ISBN 978-2-7420-0775-2. Archived from the original on 23 February 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab "Yellow fever Fact sheet N°100". World Health Organization. May 2013. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  4. ^ a b Tolle MA (April 2009). "Mosquito-borne diseases". Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care. 39 (4): 97–140. doi:10.1016/j.cppeds.2009.01.001. PMID 19327647.
  5. ^ a b c Garske T, Van Kerkhove MD, Yactayo S, Ronveaux O, Lewis RF, Staples JE, Perea W, Ferguson NM, Yellow Fever Expert Committee (2014). "Yellow Fever in Africa: Estimating the Burden of Disease and Impact of Mass Vaccination from Outbreak and Serological Data". PLOS Medicine. 11 (5): e1001638. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001638. PMC 4011853. PMID 24800812. e1001638.
  6. ^ Scully C (2014). Scully's Medical Problems in Dentistry. Elsevier Health Sciences. p. 572. ISBN 978-0-7020-5963-6.
  7. ^ "Yellow fever". World Health Organization. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  8. ^ "Yellow fever - Symptoms and causes". Mayo Clinic. Archived from the original on 24 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  9. ^ Goes de Jesus, Jaqueline; Gräf, Tiago; Giovanetti, Marta; Mares-Guia, Maria Angélica; Xavier, Joilson; Lima Maia, Maricelia; Fonseca, Vagner; Fabri, Allison; dos Santos, Roberto Fonseca; Mota Pereira, Felicidade; Ferraz Oliveira Santos, Leandro (11 August 2020). "Yellow fever transmission in non-human primates, Bahia, Northeastern Brazil". PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 14 (8): e0008405. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0008405. ISSN 1935-2727. PMC 7418952. PMID 32780745.
  10. ^ a b Lindenbach BD, Rice CM (2007). "Flaviviridae: The Viruses and Their Replication". In Knipe DM, Howley PM (eds.). Fields Virology (5th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 1101. ISBN 978-0-7817-6060-7.
  11. ^ "Flavivirus | virus genus | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions About Yellow Fever". CDC. 21 August 2015. Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  13. ^ Barnett, Elizabeth D. (2007). "Yellow Fever: Epidemiology and Prevention". Clinical Infectious Diseases. 44 (6): 850–856. doi:10.1086/511869. PMID 17304460.
  14. ^ Lataillade, Lucy de Guilhem de; Vazeille, Marie; Obadia, Thomas; Madec, Yoann; Mousson, Laurence; Kamgang, Basile; Chen, Chun-Hong; Failloux, Anna-Bella; Yen, Pei-Shi (16 November 2020). "Risk of yellow fever virus transmission in the Asia-Pacific region". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 5801. Bibcode:2020NatCo..11.5801L. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19625-9. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 7669885. PMID 33199712.
  15. ^ "CDC Yellow Fever". Archived from the original on 21 December 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  16. ^ Barrett AD, Higgs S (2007). "Yellow fever: a disease that has yet to be conquered". Annual Review of Entomology. 52: 209–229. doi:10.1146/annurev.ento.52.110405.091454. PMID 16913829. S2CID 9896455.
  17. ^ "History of Yellow Fever in the U.S." ASM.org. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  18. ^ Sfakianos J, Hecht A (2009). Babcock H (ed.). West Nile Virus (Curriculum-based juvenile nonfiction). Deadly Diseases & Epidemics. Foreword by David Heymann (2nd ed.). New York: Chelsea House. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-60413-254-0. The yellow fever virus was isolated in 1927