Yellow Fever

Yellow Fever

Description of virus that causes the disease.

• Single strand of RNA
• 11,000 nucleotides long
• Single open reading frame encoding a polyprotien
• Caused by yellow fever virus

Yellow Fever

Yellow Fever magnified at approx. 234,000X.

Viral Specificity:

• Heart
• Kidneys
• Glands
• Liver
• Adernal Glands

Symptoms and progression of the disease:

• Incubation period of three to sixty days.
• Mild infection with fever
• Headache
• Chills
• Back pain
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea and vomiting
• Only lasts for 3 to 4 days
• 15% enter a toxic phase with recurring fever
• Also with jaundice due to liver damage
• Abdominal pain
• Bleeding in the mouth, eyes, and gastrointestinal tract
• 20% of cases of toxic phase are fatal
• Cause liver & kidney failure
• Cause blood-clotting

Symptoms of Yellow Fever.



Areas Affected by Yellow Fever.

Common Methods of Transmission:

• A bite from the Yellow Fever mosquito
• Also through other mosquitoes (eg. tiger mosquito)
• By female mosquito through the blood of an infected person
• Injecting infected mosquito saliva into human blood
• From female mosquito to her eggs and then larave
• jungle yellow fever spread through mosquitoes to monkeys
• urban yellow fever spread through mosquitoes to humans

Treatment and Prevention:

• No causative cure.
• Diagnosed by a blood test
• Hospitalization is advised
• Rehydration
• Pain Relief with drugs (eg. Paracetamol)
• Vaccination can prevent but not cure
• Vaccination lasts 10 years
• Vaccination can cause YEL-AVD (yellow fever vaccine - associated viscerotropic disease)
• YEL-AVD is fatal in 60% of all cases
• Once you get it you cannot get it again

Miscellaneous:

• Is only found in Africa and South America
• Two types of yellow fever
• Jungle yellow fever
• Urban yellow fever
• Liver failure causes juandice, leading to yellowing skin and eyes.

Resources accessed:

Author: Oldstone, Michael B
Title: Yellow fever
Date: October 19, 2010
URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_fever

Author: Directors of Health Promotion and Education
Title: Yellow fever
Date: October 20, 2010
URL: www.dhpe.org/infect/yellow.html

Author: Unknown
Title: What part of the body does yellow fever affect?
Date: October 20, 2010
URL: wiki.answers.com/Q/what_part_of_the_body_does_yellow_fever_attack

Author: Skin Sight
Title: Yellow Fever
Date:
URL: www.skinsight.com/atlas/yellowfever.htm
(picture)

Author: Health Link Alberta
Title: Yellow Fever
Date: October 20, 2010
URL: www.healthlinkalberta.ca
(picture)

Author: Sarah Kelsey
Title: Preventing yellow fever
Date: October 20, 2010
URL: www.sheknows.com
(picture)