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Yellow fever

Definition:
Yellow fever is a viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes and characterized by fever, jaundice, kidney failure, and bleeding.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Yellow fever is caused by an arbovirus, a small virus transmitted by the bite of mosquitoes. This disease is common in South America and in sub-Saharan Africa. Humans and monkeys are both hosts in the transmission cycle of this infection.

While yellow fever can affect individuals of all ages, the elderly have a higher risk of severe infection. If a person is bitten by an infected mosquito, symptoms usually develop three to six days later.

Yellow fever can be divided into three stages:

  1. Early stage: headache, muscle aches, fever, loss of appetite, vomiting, and jaundice are common.
  2. Period of remission: fever and other symptoms resolve -- most individuals will recover at this stage, yet up to 15% may move onto the third, most dangerous stage.
  3. Period of intoxication: characterized by multi-organ dysfunction -- liver and kidney failure, bleeding disorders/hemorrhage, brain dysfunction including delirium, seizures, coma, shock, and in up to 30% individuals, death.


Review Date: 12/24/2002
Reviewed By: Camille Kotton, M.D., Infectious Diseases Division, Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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