Causes of yellow fever virus

If you plan to visit an area of the world where yellow fever is endemic, such as tropical or subtropical Africa or South America, you can protect yourself by getting vaccinated. It's also important to take steps to prevent mosquito bites: Wear clothing that covers your arms and legs, use mosquito netting where possible, and apply DEET, an insect repellent , to your skin.

Sign up for our Health Tip of the Day newsletter, and receive daily tips that will help you live your healthiest life. World Health Organization. Yellow Fever: Fact Sheet. The whole iceberg: estimating the incidence of yellow fever virus infection from the number of severe cases. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Transmission of Yellow Fever Virus. Yellow Fever Maps. Human genetic variation and yellow fever mortality during 19th century U.

Centers for Disease and Prevention. Yellow Fever Vaccine. Merck Manual Patient Version. Yellow fever. National Organization for Rare Disorders. Merck Manual Professional Version. Yellow Fever. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Actively scan device characteristics for identification.

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Select personalised ads. Mosquitoes become infected with the virus when they bite a human or monkey with the virus. Mosquitoes breed in tropical rainforests, humid, and semi-humid environments, as well as around bodies of still water. Most cases occur in 32 countries in Africa, including Rwanda and Sierra Leone, and in 13 countries in Latin America, including:. Your blood sample will be analyzed for the presence of the virus or for the antibodies meant to fight the virus.

Treatment involves managing symptoms and assisting your immune system in fighting off the infection by:. The WHO estimates that 50 percent of people who develop severe symptoms of this condition will die.

Older adults and those with compromised immune systems are most at risk for serious complications. Vaccination is the only way to prevent yellow fever. The vaccine for yellow fever is given as a single shot. It contains a live, weakened version of the virus that helps your body create immunity. The yellow fever 17D vaccine is among the most effective vaccines ever made. One shot lasts a lifetime.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC suggests that people between 9 months and 59 years old traveling to or living in an area where the risk of yellow fever is present should be vaccinated.

Other methods of prevention include using insect repellant, wearing clothing to reduce the number of mosquito bites, and staying inside during peak times when insects bite. Write to Jamie Ducharme at jamie. By Jamie Ducharme. You May Also Like. Already a print subscriber? Go here to link your subscription. It is related to West Nile, St. Louis encephalitis, and Japanese encephalitis viruses. Yellow fever virus is transmitted to people primarily through the bite of infected Aedes or Haemagogus species mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes acquire the virus by feeding on infected primates human or non-human and then can transmit the virus to other primates human or non-human.