Warning About Yellow Fever Issued by Health Experts, South American Regions at High Risk

Yellow fever might seem like a disease prevailing in the past that has been completely eradicated, but its another outbreak is close to becoming a reality once again. The southern parts of America pose a high risk of initiating a yellow fever outbreak, as warned by experts from the reputed Baylor College of Medicine as well as Stanford School of Medicine.

The New England Journal of Medicine published their study about the yellow fever outbreak on October 19, 2023.

Let's look into the history as well as the present threat of yellow fever in South America and what this study has to suggest about tackling the situation.

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Yellow Fever: Its Symptoms and Causes

What causes yellow fever? (Image by Peoplecreations on Freepik)

The virus of yellow fever is spread by the 'Aedes mosquito', and it targets the liver, leading to two levels of symptoms. The initial phase is characterized by symptoms like fever, chills, and muscle pain.

Those who can’t make it out of this phase experience more severe jaundice-like symptoms, like skin yellowing, bleeding, and abnormal organ functioning.

In order to safeguard yourself from yellow fever, vaccination is the best way. To prevent any further health complications, yellow fever patients should get medical attention as soon as possible.

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Tragic Past of the Disease in South America

An increasing threat in Southern USA about mosquito-borne diseases (Image by Freepik on Freepik)

Yellow fever is a flavivirus and arbovirus infection, which belongs to the same family as that of dengue and Zika virus, but the difference is that yellow fever has a substantially higher mortality rate than these diseases.

Between 1820 and 1905, yellow fever epidemics were occurring all around South America, which affected it in innumerable ways. This is because the associated vector, the Aedes mosquito, is an endemic species in the regions of the Caribbean, Latin America, and even some urban states as well.

The epidemic led to numerous deaths throughout the years and any chances of recurrence of such a situation can be as devastating as earlier if proper measures are not taken beforehand.

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Increasing Threat of Yellow Fever Yet Again

Mosquito-related illness (Image by Stockking on Freepik)

In Southern American states like Texas, Florida, and New Orleans, mosquito-related diseases like malaria, dengue, and chikungunya have observed a rise recently, which also means an increased threat of another yellow fever epidemic in the region.

Dr. Peter Hotez, co-author of this paper, warned about the situation in South America saying:

“We’ve seen a rise in mosquito-transmitted illnesses in Texas and Florida, including malaria, dengue, chikungunya, and Zika virus, but now we’re also worried about yellow fever since it seems to be accelerating in tropical regions of Latin America such as Brazil and Venezuela.”

The high mortality rate associated with yellow fever is extremely threatening and can potentially devastate the system of South America. Therefore, Dr. Hotez’s paper suggests preventative measures like the development of drugs and vaccines to tackle the virus associated with yellow fever, along with advanced genetic engineering methods to prevent the spread of this disease through mosquitoes.

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In conclusion, yellow fever is a dangerous illness associated with Aedes mosquitoes and it prevailed as an epidemic in Southern America between 1820 and 1905. But a research paper released by the experts of Baylor College of Medicine and Stanford School of Medicine marks its potential return in the region once again. The reason behind this is said to be the increase in the rates of other mosquito-associated diseases like malaria and dengue. The situation can be prevented from turning any worse by taking appropriate measures at the earliest.