Yellow fever

Yellow fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever caused by a flavivirus and transmitted by mosquitoes ^[1][2]. The available sources describe it as a disease occurring in tropical areas of South America and Africa, with endemic and outbreak transmission in those settings ^[2][1]. Source-backed detail on the specific viral lineage, incubation period, or other etiologic subtyping is not yet available in the provided material ^[1][2].

The sources characterize yellow fever as a viral hemorrhagic fever associated with illness and death ^[1]. Beyond this broad syndrome label, the provided material does not supply a detailed symptom sequence, organ involvement pattern, or complication profile ^[1][2]. It is therefore not possible from the cited text alone to specify clinical staging, severity distribution, or convalescent course ^[1][2].

Yellow fever is described as occurring in tropical areas of South America and Africa and as remaining a threat to residents of endemic areas and to travelers entering areas of endemic transmission or ongoing outbreaks ^[2][1]. The literature also notes its historical prominence in tropical regions of Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas ^[1]. One source emphasizes that many non-endemic areas are receptive to introduction and spread, highlighting the surveillance relevance of importation risk ^[2]. Human settlement encroachment into areas with sylvatic transmission is reported to have blurred the distinction between urban and sylvatic cycles ^[1].

The disease is transmitted by mosquitoes, and the sources specifically identify it as a mosquito-borne flavivirus disease ^[2]. One review also notes that urban emergence can involve peridomestic mosquitoes, mainly Aedes aegypti, mediating human-to-human transmission in amplified settings ^[3]. Detailed information on the relative importance of sylvatic versus urban transmission in the current evidence set is not fully specified ^[1][3].

The provided sources identify residents of endemic areas and travelers to endemic or outbreak-affected locations as groups at risk ^[1][2]. They also imply increased public-health vulnerability where mosquito vector populations are uncontrolled and where non-endemic areas are receptive to introduction and spread ^[3][2]. More granular source-backed detail on age, occupational, pregnancy-related, or comorbidity-specific risk groups is not yet available in the supplied material ^[1][2].

A safe and effective vaccine is available, and routine immunization is described as a public-health priority in endemic areas ^[1][2]. The sources also emphasize reaching hard-to-reach populations and expanding routine immunization activities to support vaccine equity ^[1]. For travelers, risk reduction depends on avoiding exposure in areas of endemic transmission or during outbreaks, but the provided sources do not give additional exposure-control measures beyond vaccination and programmatic immunization priorities ^[1][2].

Yellow fever should be read in surveillance as a vaccine-preventable arboviral hemorrhagic fever with ongoing endemic burden and the potential for importation into non-endemic settings ^[1][2]. The evidence base highlights the importance of monitoring both endemic transmission and outbreak-associated travel risk, as well as the possibility of spread where mosquito vectors and receptive conditions are present ^[1][3][2]. Source-backed detail on case definitions, reporting thresholds, or routine laboratory surveillance algorithms is not yet available in the provided material ^[1][2].

1. 1 Tuells J et al. Yellow Fever: A Perennial Threat. Arch Med Res. 2022 Nov. PMID: 36404585. doi: 10.1016/j.arcmed.2022.10.005. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36404585/
2. 2 Monath TP et al. Yellow fever. J Clin Virol. 2015 Mar. PMID: 25453327. doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2014.08.030. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25453327/
3. 3 Weaver SC et al. Zika, Chikungunya, and Other Emerging Vector-Borne Viral Diseases. Annu Rev Med. 2018 Jan 29. PMID: 28846489. doi: 10.1146/annurev-med-050715-105122. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28846489/
4. 4 All Our Yellow Fevers. Nimrods. 2023. doi: 10.1215/9781478027171-013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/9781478027171-013
5. 5 ALL OUR YELLOW FEVERS. Nimrods. 2023. doi: 10.2307/jj.6167277.15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.6167277.15
6. 6 Yellow Fever. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. 1889. doi: 10.1001/jama.1889.04440050032012. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1889.04440050032012

ICD-10

A95

ICD-11

1D48

Total cases

1

Peak month

2018-01

Coverage

5 reporting countries · 2013-01-01 → 2026-06-20