Yellow Fever Treatment Specialist Q&A

Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease that can result in severe symptoms and death. Yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes and is an endemic found in the tropical areas of South and Central America and Africa. Epidemics occur when infected people bring the virus into densely popular areas where there is minimal immunization.

A small percentage of individuals who contract yellow fever develop severe symptoms and half of the patients who develop such symptoms die. Yellow fever is named as such of the jaundice that sometimes develops.

Jaundice turns the skin, mucous membranes, and whites of the eyes yellow due to higher levels of bilirubin which is a bile pigment colored yellow-orange. Other yellow fever symptoms include headache, fever, vomiting, nausea, muscle pain, and fatigue.

Yellow fever is difficult to treat, treatment in hospitals can increase the survival rate but it is merely supportive with no antiviral drug in existence that is currently tailored to it. Fortunately, there is a highly effective safe, and affordable vaccine that provides 99% effective immunity within a month of administration.

It is highly recommended Americans traveling abroad to areas in the world where yellow fever is common to vaccinate themselves against the infection. For travelers who do not have a thirty-day period between their departure date, immunization is still highly effective, providing immunity for 80-100% of vaccinated individuals ten days after administration of the vaccine. Yellow fever is diagnosed based on travel history, symptoms, and laboratory testing.

In addition to receiving the vaccination, travelers should wear long pants, and long-sleeved shirts, and use insect repellent when visiting the subtropical and tropical reasons where yellow fever is prominent.

Yellow fever is spread to people when they are bitten by an infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes or Haemagogus mosquitoes exposing them to infected bile. Yellow fever is related to West Nile, St. Louis encephalitis, and the Japanese encephalitis virus.

Mosquitoes are infected with the virus by feeding on infected human or non-human primates and then transmitting the virus to non-infected primates by subsequently feeding on them. Humans infected with yellow fever are infectious by mosquitoes for a brief period before and after the onset of the infection. The virus spreads as an endemic in areas where immunization is scarce and is particularly widespread in Africa and Central and South America.

Malaria and yellow fever are distinct mosquito-borne health threats. Malaria spreads through the bite of Anopheles mosquitoes while yellow fever is spread by the aforementioned Aedes or Haemagogus species.

Both malaria and yellow fever may present as asymptomatic, but both are capable of severe and life-threatening symptoms. Treatment does exist for malaria unlike yellow fever as both intravenous infusion and oral medication can successfully treat the infection. Malaria is a disease caused by a parasite meanwhile a virus causes yellow fever. Malaria has a higher death rate despite being treatable.

While mosquitoes are responsible for the widespread transmission of yellow fever to humans and should be treated with caution in regions where the infection is common, yellow fever itself is caused by the Flavivirus. This is part of a family of single-stranded, positive, enveloped RNA viruses.

The Flavivirus exists in arthropods, particularly mosquitoes and ticks, and is capable of infecting humans, capable of causing widespread mortality. The spread of yellow fever can happen among people if the virus is exposed to popular areas where vaccination is not common.

Walking Urgent Care offers people in Coral Springs the opportunity to get immunized against yellow fever before traveling. So, before you pack your bags and take flight, learn more about yellow fever and how we can help keep you safe while abroad. We serve patients from Coral Springs FL, Margate FL, Parkland FL, North Lauderdale FL, Tamarac FL, and Coconut Creek FL.