Yellow fever disease FAQ

Why is it called yellow fever?

Yellow fever is named after the yellow discoloration of the eyes and skin that some people get while sick.

How is yellow fever transmitted?

Yellow fever is transmitted via the mosquito bite, but a specific mosquito is called Aedes or Haemagogus.

Before a mosquito becomes infected and can carry the infection, it should bite a person with the yellow fever virus in their blood.

Where is yellow fever most common?

Yellow fever disease is confined to a specific part of the world: West Africa and small areas of South America (rain forest).

Epidemic usually happens in areas with high mosquito density and little or no immunity.

What causes yellow fever?

Yellow fever is caused by arbovirus. It can be transmitted to humans via bites of anthropods, mosquitoes, and ticks.

What does yellow fever look like?

Yellow fever has three stages: initial, remission or disappearance of symptoms, and toxic.

During the initial stage, regular symptoms of most viral infections are present: headache, fever, chills, and loss of appetite. It gets better in 3-4 days.

After the initial stage, most people go into remission (the disappearance of symptoms) and recover. However, for others, symptoms may get worse in 24 hours.

During the last toxic stage, problems with many organs may occur, including the heart, liver, and kidney. 50% of people entering the toxic stage may die.