Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2006 Aug 19;150(33):1815-20.

[The risk of yellow fever in travellers]

[Article in Dutch]
Affiliations
  • PMID: 16967591
Review

[The risk of yellow fever in travellers]

[Article in Dutch]
A H E Roukens et al. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. .

Abstract

Yellow fever is a tropical virus disease characterised by high fever, jaundice, heart and kidney failure, and haemorrhagic diathesis. The causative Flavivirus is endemic in parts of tropical Africa and South America and is transmitted among humans and primates by mosquitoes. The chance that an unvaccinated traveller to West Africa will die of yellow fever is estimated at 1:650 to 1:5000 visitors per month of stay, depending on whether an epidemic occurs. Vaccination with the attenuated yellow fever Asibi 17D virus results in limited virus replication in the body and long-term protection due to the formation of neutralising antibodies. Vaccination is contraindicated in immunocompromised persons. Serious disseminated disease and encephalitis due to infection with the vaccine virus strain are seen more often in the elderly. One should therefore refrain from vaccination in persons over 60 years of age when the risk of infection is negligible. In recent years, the number of yellow fever epidemics has risen substantially, particularly in West Africa and the Amazon region. Reintroduction of yellow fever vaccination in childhood vaccination programmes is necessary in endemic areas to turn the tide of increasing outbreaks of yellow fever.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

  • A fatal yellow fever virus infection in China: description and lessons.
    Chen Z, Liu L, Lv Y, Zhang W, Li J, Zhang Y, Di T, Zhang S, Liu J, Li J, Qu J, Hua W, Li C, Wang P, Zhang Q, Xu Y, Jiang R, Wang Q, Chen L, Wang S, Pang X, Liang M, Ma X, Li X, Wang Q, Zhang F, Li D. Chen Z, et al. Emerg Microbes Infect. 2016 Jul 13;5(7):e69. doi: 10.1038/emi.2016.89. Emerg Microbes Infect. 2016. PMID: 27406389 Free PMC article.

LinkOut - more resources