Yellow Fever -UPSC Current Affairs

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Context

A total 1,191 Indians evacuated from strife-torn Sudan have arrived in the country so far. Of these, 117 passengers are currently in quarantine as they were not vaccinated against yellow fever.

Yellow Fever

About

Yellow fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes.
The "yellow" in the name refers to the jaundice that affects some patients.

Causes and risk factors

A flavivirus causes yellow fever.
It is transmitted by mosquito bite, usually the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
The mosquito becomes infected by biting an infected human or a monkey.
An infected mosquito is a source of infection for the rest of its life.
The flavivirus is endemic among monkeys that live in the tree tops of the jungle, known as the jungle canopy, in many parts of Africa and the Americas.

Symptoms

Symptoms of yellow fever include fever, headache, jaundice, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, jaundice, which gives the skin and whites of the eyes a yellow tinge, kidney failure, liver failure, hemorrhage, bleeding from the nose, mouth, and eyes.
Between 20 percent and 50 percent of people who develop toxic stage symptoms die within two weeks.

Treatment

There is no effective antiviral medication to treat yellow fever, so treatment consists of supportive care in a hospital.
This includes providing fluids, oxygen, making sure blood pressure is adequate, replacing lost blood, kidney dialysis if there is kidney failure, and treating any secondary infections.

Prevention

In the middle of the 20th century, scientists developed a safe and effective vaccine that prevents yellow fever.

PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. Which of the following statements are correct?

a) Yellow fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes.

b) There is no effective antiviral medication to treat yellow fever and there is no vaccine for its prevention either.

1. Only a

2. Only b

3. Both a and b

4. Neither a nor b

Answer: 1