Yellow Fever’s Home

Does every mosquito bite lead to illness? Would it pose a health risk if one single bite occurs? It’s the question that goes through many people’s mind and after years of reports of epidemic viruses being transmitted through mosquito bites, it comes to no surprise as to why one would have a reason to worry even just a little bit. This is an everyday worry for citizens of many tropical and sub-tropical regions throughout the world and because vaccination is expensive or sometimes not available, the mortality rate becomes high.

Yellow fever is a viral hemorrhagic disease that is carried by mosquitoes and transmitted through single bites. The disease principally infects the liver and if not treated, the virus can permanently damage it and eventually cause a cardiovascular shock along with a multi-organ failure which in turn can lead to death. 

In continents such as Central Africa and South America that contain countries in the tropics, more than 600 million people live in areas that are endemic and are at risk for infection. The virus is not contagious from human to human contact but if a mosquito bites an individual who has the virus and then moves on to bite another who does not, the virus can enter the person. Over the last 400 years, there have been periods of outbreaks that have lasted between 2-8 years in these countries. Even in recent memory, outbreaks have taken place. In the early 1990’s, an outbreak took place in Kenya that lasted nearly two years and then another in Sudan from 2003 to 2005. In South America, outbreaks took place in earlier periods of the 17^th and 19^th century with the latter believed to have taken place during the slave trades of that time.

In total, about 44 countries pose risks of infection if an individual has yet to have immunization of any sorts. Despite the advancement of medicine within the last two decades, yellow fever have seen increases over the years in the number of cases due to declining population immunity to infection, deforestation, urbanization, population movements, climate change, and the costs of immunization in the less developed countries. Some people, mostly the poor population of these countries, do not have the conditions or financial stability to afford medical care which also eliminates any chance for treatment should infection take place. In response to these conditions, the World Health Organization (WHO) is the secretariat for the International Coordinating Group for Yellow Fever Vaccine Provision (ICG). Its’ main purpose is to maintain emergency stockpiles of yellow fever vaccines to ensure rapid responses to outbreaks in countries that pose high risks for endemics. Since 2007, 12 countries have completed preventive yellow fever vaccination campaigns.

Rapid responses have taken place through emergency vaccination campaigns for controlling outbreaks, but under-reporting is still a prime concern despite initiative steps taken for prevention and combat of the virus. The true number of cases is estimated to be 10 to 250 times to what has been reported. So if you are planning to travel to regions where yellow fever is prominent, vaccination is a necessity and it is recommended that you contact your local health care provider in New York if you are considering Yellow Fever Vaccination. It poses no major health risks and is known to provide 10 years of immunity to the virus. For more information, visit us at our website at www.travelclinicny.com or call us at 212-696-5900 to schedule an appointment. As I always say, a clean bill of health is always bliss!