yellow fever is a viral disease transmitted by the bite of the Aedus aegypti mosquito, present in South America and sub-Saharan Africa. Symptoms appear a few days after the bite and are characterized by jaundice, which is why it is known as yellow fever. Symptoms evolve over time and are staged based on the progress of the virus, ranging from flushing of the head and vomiting to yellowish skin and kidney failure. Prevention through vaccination is the best treatment against yellow fever, since once you have the virus, only the symptoms can be alleviated. In this article we explain the contagion, symptoms and treatment of yellow fever
Yellow fever contagion
Yellow fever is spread by the bite of a mosquito infected with the virus. All people can be infected with yellow fever, but those who are older have a higher risk of developing the virus to its most serious stage. According to their contagion, we can distinguish three types according to their forms of transmission:
- Jungle It mainly affects monkeys, the living being most affected by the sting along with humans. It takes place in tropical forests and mosquitoes contract the virus by being in contact with these infected animals, and can subsequently infect humans.
- Intermediate Contagion that causes an outbreak of yellow fever in different populations separated from each other, causing deaths. If not controlled, it can generate an epidemic, considered serious. It takes place in the humid or semi-humid savannahs of the African continent.
- Epidemic. Contagion occurs in areas with a high urban concentration, leading to large epidemics in which people easily infect each other.
Yellow Fever Symptoms
When a person contracts the virus and has passed the 3-6 day incubation period, the infection develops in one or two phases. Yellow fever can be confused with other hemorrhagic fevers such as Zika virus or dengue.
- First phase It is considered the acute phase, in which the first symptoms appear, such as fever, headaches, chills, loss of appetite, nausea or vomiting, and back pain. Affected people usually improve after 4 days, with symptoms disappearing.
- Second phase Only 15% of those infected with yellow fever reach this stage. The fever increases and damage to different organs occurs. Other symptoms appear such as jaundice, abdominal pain, vomiting, in addition to nose, oral, eye, gastric bleeding and blood in vomit, stool or kidney failure. 50% of patients in this phase die after two weeks, while the other half end up recovering.
The common symptoms of yellow fever are:
- Fever.
- Headache.
- Delirium caused by fever.
- Jaundice. Yellowish skin and eyes.
- Hemorrhages.
- Arrhythmias. Irregular heartbeat.
- Muscle pains.
- Vomiting and/or bloody stools.
- Involuntary muscle contractions.
Yellow fever treatment
Currently, there is no cure for yellow fever. The objective when treating infected patients is to control symptoms with medications that combat fever and dehydration Antibiotics are administered to control the bacteria that causes the infection. However, many of the affected areas do not have sufficient resources to obtain the necessary medications to control the symptoms.
Yellow fever prevention
Prevention is one of the most important factors in controlling yellow fever, with vaccination and mosquito control being the two most important measures.
The vaccination prevents the spread of yellow fever from causing epidemics. Especially in areas where there is a high risk, immunizing the population is an important factor, so outbreaks must be identified in order to control them as quickly as possible. The most effective measure is preventive vaccination in childhood, through campaigns that allow coverage to be increased in those countries most prone to outbreaks, as well as those people who are going to travel to places that present a high risk of contagion. The yellow fever vaccine is effective and almost absolute immunity is achieved after a month. However, there are a number of groups that should not be vaccinated:
- Under 9 months.
- Pregnant, except when yellow fever outbreaks occur.
- People with severe allergies to egg proteins or those with immunodeficiency disorders caused by AIDS or other infections.
On the other hand, mosquito control plays a very important role in the waiting period for the vaccine to do effect. Eliminating the main mosquito breeding sites in urban areas can help reduce the risk of contagion, in addition to applying insecticide to the water. Therefore, controlling the presence of mosquitoes is essential to ensure that the vaccine takes effect and reduce the number of cases.
This article is merely informative, at ONsalus.com we do not have the authority to prescribe medical treatments or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to go to a doctor in the event of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.
