Yellow fever is a viral infection that is predominantly transmissible by some mosquitoes that bite during the day.

A vaccine-preventable disease, the Yellow Fever virus causes a sickness that leads to jaundice (the eyes and skin turn yellow) bleeding, with serious damage to the vital organs in the body. In serious infection cases, the number of deaths is higher.

Yellow Fever is found in tropical regions of Africa, South America, eastern Panama in Central America, and Trinidad in the Caribbean. Places, where the disease is common, are characterised by a high number of infection-causing mosquitoes that are known to transmit the disease. These areas also have previously reported cases of yellow fever infections in monkeys and/or humans.

Yellow fever is uncommon in western travellers. In the UK, the last reported case was in the 1930s. It was found in a laboratory technician who was working with the virus in London. Six death cases were recorded from yellow fever in European and American travellers between 1996 and 2010. These travellers were non-vaccinated against the infection.

The risk of contracting yellow fever depends on the following factors:

– Travel destination

– Level of transmission in the place to be visited

– Season of travel (most cases of yellow fever infection occurred in the late rainy season to early dry season)

– Length of travel

– Activities that might lead to exposure to mosquitoes

– Vaccination status

Under the International Health Regulations, countries may require travellers to show proof of vaccination. This is recorded in an International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP). It is a measure for preventing the international spread of Yellow Fever.

More information is found in our Patient Information Leaflet which we recommend you read before getting your vaccination.

Prevention

Individuals travelling to risk regions should exercise thorough mosquito bite avoidance.

Yellow Fever Vaccine

Presently, a very effective live YF vaccine is available. Vaccination is recommended for all individuals travelling to countries where there is a high risk of yellow fever virus transmission. Yellow fever vaccination is rarely linked with severe side effects. After vaccination, the yellow fever vaccination certificate is valid after 10 days. In most cases, the vaccine offers lifelong protection against the disease.