Yellow Fever

Overview

Yellow fever is a viral disease often seen in tropical and subtropical regions of South America and Africa that is spread by mosquitoes. The most frequent symptoms are fever, muscle discomfort with a noticeable backache, headache, lack of appetite, and nausea or vomiting, though many people do not have any of these. The Aedes mosquito is the main vector for viral transmission. It has a 3-6 day incubation period, which indicates that it takes 3–6 days after infection for symptoms to start to manifest. A safe and economical vaccine that is incredibly successful at preventing yellow fever is available. The yellow fever vaccination only needs to be administered once to provide lifelong immunity and protection from the disease. There is no need for a booster dose of the vaccine.