Yellow Fever

WHAT IS YELLOW FEVER?

Yellow Fever is a very serious infection caused by a virus. The virus is usually, but not solely, spread by a mosquito called Aedes aegypti. The mosquito bites an infected person or monkey, from that point the mosquito is infected and will carry the virus and be a source of infection for the rest of its life. When it bites another human or monkey, they are then infected and the chain continues.

Classic symptoms include:
High temperature/fever, a headache, nausea and vomiting, muscle pain that may include backache and Jaundice, where the yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes occurs due to liver damage.

As there is no particular treatment for the disease, up to 60% of those that become infected will die from the disease.

DO I NEED YELLOW FEVER VACCINE FOR MY HOLIDAY?

Yellow Fever can mainly be found South of the Sahara Desert in Africa, South America and parts of the Caribbean. To find out what vaccinations you will need for your travels, please visit our country guide and choose which countries you will be visiting.

Yellow Fever vaccination is needed by travellers visiting those countries that require an International Certificate of Vaccination for entry and those countries where Yellow Fever is prevalent. The vaccine is a single dose that must be administered at least 10 days before travelling to a country that requires vaccination. This is to allow enough time for protective immunity to develop.

NOTE: You can only get yellow fever from certified Yellow Fever vaccination centres:

TRAVELPHARM TRAVEL CLINICS:

HOW DO I AVOID GETTING YELLOW FEVER?

How do I avoid getting Yellow Fever? It’s a good idea to avoid mosquito bites in general as mosquitoes spread a wide variety of diseases including, Malaria, Yellow fever, Dengue fever, Japanese Encephalitis, Chikungunya, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, Filariasis, Rift Valley Fever (occasionally) Ross River Virus and Murray Valley Encephalitis, St Louis Encephalitis and West Nile Fever. The bite can be sore but is often painless.

• To avoid bites wear clothing that covers as much of the body as possible such as long sleeved clothing and long trousers.
• Were you have exposed skin, insect repellents should always be used and remember, mosquitoes may bite through thin clothing, so also spray an insecticide or repellent on them too.
• Burning pyrethroid coils and heating insecticide impregnated tablets all help to control mosquitoes.
• If sleeping in a room that has no screens, or out of doors, a mosquito net (which should be impregnated with insecticide) is a sensible precaution. Nets that have pyrethroid in the material or bound to the material have an expected life of 3-5 years and are superior to nets that require re-impregnation.
• Portable, lightweight nets are available and it’s always a good idea to practice erecting nets before departure.
• Regardless of what you read on the internet, there is no evidence that Garlic, Vitamin B and ultrasound devices prevent bites.