Yellow fever is a serious viral disease that's usually spread by a type of mosquito known as the Aedes aegypti mosquito. It can be prevented with a vaccination (see below).
Yellow fever mainly occurs in sub-Saharan Africa (countries to the south of the Sahara desert), South America and in parts of the Caribbean. There haven't been any recent cases of yellow fever in North America, Europe or Asia. Since 1996, six European or US travellers have died from yellow fever. None of them were vaccinated.
Read more about the risk areas for yellow fever.
Yellow fever can be fatal. About 7 or 8 people out of 100 who get yellow fever die from it.
Typical symptoms of yellow fever include:
- headache
- high temperature
- nausea and vomiting
- jaundice – yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes
- bleeding
How yellow fever is spread
Yellow fever is a type of virus known as a flavivirus. The virus is transmitted through mosquito bites. It can be spread from one host to another, usually between monkeys, or from monkeys to humans, or from person to person. The mosquitoes live and breed in jungle and urban areas.
See Yellow fever - causes for more information about how yellow fever is transmitted.
Yellow fever vaccination
There's a vaccination for yellow fever. Some countries require a proof of vaccination (certificate) against yellow fever before they let you enter the country.
You should have a yellow fever vaccination at least 10 days before your travel. This will allow enough time for your body to develop protection against the yellow fever infection.
The yellow fever vaccination is recommended for:
- laboratory workers who handle infected material
- anyone travelling to, or living in, an area or country where yellow fever is a problem (see Yellow fever - risk areas for a list of countries where there's a risk of yellow fever)
- anyone travelling to a country that requires an International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP) against yellow fever for entry
See Yellow fever - prevention for more information about the yellow fever vaccination and the vaccination certificate, plus where to get vaccinated.
