Yellow Fever

Yellow fever isn’t just a normal fever, but it’s a serious infection that could lead to severe complications, and in a lot of cases, it could lead to death as a result of these complications.

Yellow fever

Yellow fever is a viral infection that transmits through the bite of certain types of mosquitoes. It’s called yellow fever because in the advanced stages of the disease it causes jaundice (the skin and the whites of the eyes become yellow).

Yellow fever is common in tropical and subtropical regions in Africa and South America, and it affects about 200.000 people each year.

Causes of yellow fever

• Yellow fever occurs due to a virus that transmits only through the bite of certain types of mosquitoes. In other words, the patient can’t transmit the disease directly to another person.
• Yellow fever is common in people who live or work in the tropical and subtropical jungles in Africa and South America, in addition to people who travel to these regions.

Symptoms of yellow fever

Yellow fever might not cause any symptoms, and it might cause mild or severe symptoms, depending on the case.

Mild symptoms:

• Fever.
• Tiredness and body aches.
• Headaches.
• Nausea and vomiting.

Severe symptoms:

• Very high fever.
• Bleeding.
• Jaundice.
• Liver or kidney failure.
• Shock.
• Death in about 30-60% of patients with severe symptoms.

Diagnosis of yellow fever

It’s diagnosed by asking about the symptoms, the patient’s travel history, and some blood tests.

Management of yellow fever

• There isn’t a cure for yellow fever, yet it’s managed by resting and drinking a lot of fluids.
• There’s a vaccine for yellow fever that you should take if you might travel to the regions where the disease is common.

Prevention of yellow fever

When traveling to places where yellow fever is common, it’s recommended that you follow the following instructions to prevent mosquito bites:

• Covering the skin with clothes.
• Applying mosquito repellent to the exposed skin and clothes.
• Covering the windows and doors.
• Sleeping under a specific net.