Parts of Nigeria are experiencing a Yellow Fever outbreak so here's all you need to know about the disease and how to stay safe.
Yellow fever is a disease caused by a virus that is spread through mosquito bites. As an outbreak occurs, here's all you need to know about Yellow Fever.
Symptoms of Yellow Fever usually take 3–6 days to develop and include fever, chills, headache, backache, and muscle aches. About 15% of people who get yellow fever develop serious illness that can lead to bleeding, shock, organ failure, and sometimes death.
Yellow Fever Key Facts:
- Yellow fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. The "yellow" in the name refers to the jaundice that affects some patients.
- Symptoms of yellow fever include fever, headache, jaundice, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting and fatigue.
- A small proportion of patients who contract the virus develop severe symptoms and approximately half of those die within 7 to 10 days.
- The virus is endemic in tropical areas of Africa and Central and South America.
- Large epidemics of yellow fever occur when infected people introduce the virus into heavily populated areas with high mosquito density and where most people have little or no immunity, due to lack of vaccination. In these conditions, infected mosquitoes of the Aedes aegypti specie transmit the virus from person to person.
- • Yellow fever is prevented by an extremely effective vaccine, which is safe and affordable. A single dose of yellow fever vaccine is sufficient to confer sustained immunity and life-long protection against yellow fever disease. A booster dose of the vaccine is not needed. The vaccine provides effective immunity within 10 days for 80-100% of people vaccinated, and within 30 days for more than 99% of people vaccinated.
- Good supportive treatment in hospitals improves survival rates. There is currently no specific anti-viral drug for yellow fever.
- The Eliminate Yellow fever Epidemics (EYE) Strategy launched in 2017 is an unprecedented initiative. With more than 50 partners involved, the EYE partnership supports 40 at-risk countries in Africa and the Americas to prevent, detect, and respond to yellow fever suspected cases and outbreaks. The partnership aims at protecting at-risk populations, preventing international spread, and containing outbreaks rapidly. By 2026, it is expected that more than 1 billion people will be protected against the disease.
Symptoms of Yellow Fever
Yellow fever develops quickly, with symptoms occurring three to six days after exposure. The initial symptoms of the infection are similar to those of the influenza virus. They include:
- headaches
- muscle aches
- joint aches
- chills
- fever
Acute Phase
This phase usually lasts for three to four days. Common symptoms include:
- headaches
- muscle aches
- joint aches
- a fever
- flushing
- a loss of appetite
- shivers
- backaches
After the acute phase is over, symptoms will begin to go away. Many people recover from yellow fever at this stage, but some people will develop a more serious version of this condition.
Toxic Phase
The symptoms that you experienced in the acute phase may disappear for up to 24 hours. Then, those symptoms will return, along with new and more serious symptoms. These include:
- decreased urination
- abdominal pain
- vomiting (sometimes with blood)
- heart rhythm problems
- seizures
- delirium
- bleeding from the nose, mouth, and eyes
This phase of the disease is often fatal, but only 15 percent of people with yellow fever enter this phase.
Treatment
There’s no cure for yellow fever. Treatment involves managing symptoms and assisting your immune system in fighting off the infection by:
- getting enough fluids, possibly through your veins
- getting oxygen
- maintaining a healthy blood pressure
- getting blood transfusions
- having dialysis if you experience kidney failure
- getting treatment for other infections that may develop