Yellow fever is spread by a particular species of mosquito. If you are going abroad from India, then there are some countries like Africa and South America, where you must get vaccinated before going. This is important because there is a lot of outbreaks of yellow fever in such countries. You may get an infection while traveling to these countries.
During monsoon season the disease created by mosquito bites increases significantly during monsoon. According to recent reports, many states of the country are facing dengue outbreaks these days. Cases of this disease have also increased in eastern states including Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala. More than 10,000 dengue cases have been reported in Karnataka so far this year, including eight deaths. There is news of an increase in cases of dengue infection in Delhi, Rajasthan, and Gujarat.
Health experts say that during monsoon, the risk of dengue as well as many other diseases caused by mosquitoes increases. Yellow fever is also one of them. Yellow fever is considered a serious and potentially fatal flu-like illness spread by the same Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that spread dengue and Zika viruses.
30 to 50 percent of patients suffering from this fatal disease die. Let us know why yellow fever is so dangerous and what measures can be taken to prevent it.
Table of Contents
Know about yellow fever
Yellow fever virus (flavivirus) causes yellow fever. This disease also spreads through the bite of infected mosquitoes. There is no risk of it spreading from an infected person to other people. As its name suggests, this fever can cause the skin to turn yellow (jaundice). The risk of jaundice along with high fever has been seen to be higher in the infected.
Doctors say that it is important to identify the symptoms in time and seek treatment. Due to delay in treatment, the risk of serious diseases increases.
What is yellow fever?
Yellow fever is an acute hemorrhagic disease caused by a virus, which is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. The word yellow in the disease name refers to the jaundice that affects some patients. This is a disease that affects the entire body.
What are the symptoms of yellow fever?
Studies show that yellow fever cases develop rapidly, with symptoms appearing 3 to 6 days after infection. The initial symptoms of infection are similar to those of the influenza virus; there may be a headache, muscle, and joint pain, chills along fever. Due to the severe form of the disease, joint pain, jaundice, loss of appetite, tremors or back pain may also occur.
- Fever
- Headache
- Bleeding (bleeding) in the mouth, nose, ears, and stomach.
- Vomiting, nausea, vomiting
- Stagnation of functioning of the liver and kidneys
- Stomach ache
- Jaundice
- Muscle and back pain
- Feeling tired
- Body ache
- Nausea
- Yellowing of skin and eyes
If it is not treated timely, some people may be at risk of problems urinating, vomiting (sometimes with blood), heart rhythm problems, seizures, and bleeding from the nose and mouth.
Types of Yellow Fever
Yellow fever may be of three types: mild, severe, and refractory. The mild type is characterized by the presence of fever, headache, vomiting, jaundice pain, etc., for three to four days. There are three stages of acute fever:
(1) Active – giving symptoms like cold, fever, body ache, depression, vomiting, insomnia, etc.
(2) Avoidance – reduction in fever, reduction in other symptoms and
(3) Sadourbalya – Re-increase in temperature, appearance of jaundice, coffee colored vomiting, black diarrhea, bleeding, bilious urine, low blood pressure and weak pulse. In fatal condition, urine stops.
In refractory type of fever, 106°F. Above this there are symptoms of fever, profuse bleeding and severe deformity. The effects of the deformity caused by the disease can be seen in the liver, kidneys and blood vessels.
This disease, for a period of ten days, and if it becomes not fatal, the patient gradually recovers. The attack does not recur, and if it does happen, it is fatal. Fatality rates in various epidemics have ranged from 10 to 70 percent.
The prevention of the disease is by the destruction of mosquitoes. Yellow fever vaccine also gives protection for about four years. Once the disease occurs, only symptomatic treatment is possible. No specific treatment is known yet.
Identification of the cause of a disease
Finding the cause of this fever is an exciting success story. In 1900, disorders were going on in Cuba, so the American army was sent there. Then yellow fever became an epidemic and more soldiers started dying from yellow fever than from enemy bullets. Major Walter Reed was ordered to find out the cause of yellow fever. There were no research sources; No animal in the experiment was suffering from this fever. Havana’s old doctor, Carlos Finley thought mosquitoes were the cause.
Rode captured this very formula. Reed’s heroic companions in research were James Carroll, Agramanti, and Jesse Lazier. Reed conducted unprecedented experiments and for the first time, a human had to become an experiment animal. James Carroll conducted the first experiment on himself. Even managed to get himself bitten by mosquitoes feeding on the blood of a patient who had yellow fever. He contracted the disease, which he barely survived.
Many soldiers and civilians became ‘guinea pigs’ in trying to find out precisely how the disease was spread. Many happily sacrificed their lives, the first being Jesse Lazier. Finally, in 1901, it was proved that the root of yellow fever was some invisible bacteria, and its vectors were mosquitoes. In case mosquitoes drink the blood of a fever-stricken person within the first three days, their bite can cause yellow fever in a healthy person up to 12 days later.
It can be transmitted from one person to another by injection. As a result of this research, mosquito extermination campaigns were conducted, and the severity of epidemics was reduced. Stokes, Naguchi, and Young also became martyrs in researching this disease in Africa. In 1927, the West African Yellow Fever Commission reported that rhesus monkeys, Macaca mulatta, could contract this disease.
Then the yellow fever virus was also identified. It is 17 to 28 millimicrons in size. It can be cultured either in chicken eggs or mouse embryos. These viruses possess two properties: tropism, neurotropism, or ubiquity.
Treatment and prevention of yellow fever
There is no cure for yellow fever. Treatment involves taking some measures to manage symptoms and boost your immune system to fight infection. Health experts say that it is important to keep making efforts to prevent yellow fever.
In its treatment, the doctor gives the patient non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines. After this fever, the doctor advises rest.
The patient is admitted for some time. The only way to prevent yellow fever is vaccination. For this, a vaccine named 17D is given which is considered quite effective. Adopting methods to prevent mosquito bites can also be helpful in keeping you safe from this disease.
Disclaimer
All the articles published in “Health Alpha” are prepared on the basis of various sources like doctors, internet, experts and books. The facts and information mentioned in the article have been checked and verified by Health Alpha.
All instructions have been followed while preparing this article. The related article has been prepared to increase the information and awareness of the reader. Health Alpha does not make any claims nor takes any responsibility regarding the information and information provided in the article.
For more information about the related diseases mentioned in the above article, consult your doctor and do not take any medicine without medical advice.
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