Yellow fever
ইয়েলো ফিভার
Common Symptoms
⚠️ This symptom list is for educational purposes. Having these symptoms does not mean you have this condition. See a doctor for proper diagnosis.
Medicines Commonly Used
⚠️ These medicines are commonly used for confirmed diagnoses of this condition. This is NOT a recommendation or prescription. Treatment must be determined by your doctor.
No medicines have been linked to this condition yet.
Yellow fever is a serious viral infection spread by certain types of mosquito. You'll mainly find it in sub-Saharan Africa, South America and parts of the Caribbean.
A vaccination can prevent yellow fever, and it is a very rare cause of illness in travellers. Between 1999 and 2018, 12 cases were reported among European travellers. None of them had been vaccinated, and 5 of the cases occurred in 2018.
If you're planning to visit places where yellow fever infection is found, you should seek travel health advice before you travel.
How yellow fever spreads
Yellow fever is caused by a virus, and people catch it when an infected mosquito bites them. These mosquitoes usually bite during the daytime, and you can find them in towns and cities as well as in the countryside.
You can't get yellow fever directly from another person through close contact.
Yellow fever symptoms
Yellow fever comes in 2 stages. The first symptoms appear 3 to 6 days after infection, and can include:
- a high temperature (fever)
- a headache
- nausea or vomiting
- muscle pain, including backache
- loss of appetite
This first stage usually passes after 3 to 4 days, and most people make a full recovery.
However, around 15% of people go on to develop more serious problems. These include jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes), kidney failure, and bleeding from the mouth, nose, eyes or stomach (which causes blood in your vomit and stools).
Up to half of those who have these symptoms will die.
Read more: Headaches
When to talk to a doctor
If you develop symptoms of yellow fever while you're travelling in an area where the virus is found, or soon after you've come back from one, see a doctor as soon as possible.
The doctor will want to know exactly where you have been and what symptoms you have, because that helps them work out whether yellow fever is likely. A blood test will be needed to confirm the diagnosis.
Treating yellow fever
There's no specific treatment for yellow fever, but doctors can watch you closely and treat the symptoms as they appear. You will be admitted to hospital so you can be assessed and given supportive care.
Yellow fever vaccination
The yellow fever vaccine protects you from infection when you travel to a country where the yellow fever virus occurs. It also stops the disease from spreading from one country to another.
Once you've had the vaccine, you're given a yellow fever vaccine certificate. This is your proof that you've been vaccinated and are protected from infection. The certificate is made to fit inside your passport, and it is valid for life.
Some countries ask for proof of vaccination. These are the countries where yellow fever occurs, and also those where it could occur because they have the right mosquito and monkey species to carry the infection.