yellow fever

Acute tropical viral disease, prevalent in the Caribbean area, Brazil, and on the west coast of Africa. The yellow fever virus is an arbovirus transmitted by mosquitoes. Its symptoms include a high fever, headache, joint and muscle pains, vomiting, and yellowish skin (jaundice, possibly leading to liver failure); the heart and kidneys may also be affected. The mortality rate is 15%, with 91% of all cases occurring in Africa.

Before the arrival of Europeans, yellow fever was not a problem because indigenous people had built up an immunity. The disease was brought under control after the discovery that it is carried by the mosquito Aëdes aegypti. The first effective vaccines were produced by Max Theiler (1899–1972) of South Africa, for which he was awarded the 1951 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there are about 200,000 cases of yellow fever each year in Africa, with 30,000 deaths (2003).