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Medical Author:

Steven Doerr, MD

Steven Doerr, MD

Steven Doerr, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician. Dr. Doerr received his undergraduate degree in Spanish from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He graduated with his Medical Degree from the University Of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, Colorado in 1998 and completed his residency training in Emergency Medicine from Denver Health Medical Center in Denver, Colorado in 2002, where he also served as Chief Resident.

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Medical Editor:

Mary D. Nettleman, MD, MS, MACP

Mary D. Nettleman, MD, MS, MACP

Mary D. Nettleman, MD, MS, MACP is the Chair of the Department of Medicine at Michigan State University. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt Medical School, and completed her residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Indiana University.

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In this Article

• What is yellow fever? What is the history of yellow fever?
• What causes yellow fever?
• How is yellow fever transmitted?
• What areas are high-risk for contracting yellow fever?
• What is the incubation period for yellow fever?
• What are yellow fever symptoms and signs?
• How is yellow fever diagnosed?
• What is the treatment for yellow fever?
• What is the prognosis for people with yellow fever?
• Can yellow fever be prevented?
• Where can people get more information on yellow fever?
• Yellow Fever At A Glance
• Find a local Doctor in your town
• Yellow Fever Index

There is no specific curative treatment for yellow fever. Treatment is supportive and aimed at relieving the symptoms of the disease, including the pain and fever. As previously mentioned, the majority of patients who develop symptoms from yellow fever will experience a mild course of illness which will resolve on its own within three to four days.

Supportive measures implemented depend on the severity of the disease, and may include

• oxygen administration,



• intravenous fluid administration for dehydration,



• medications to increase blood pressure in cases of circulatory collapse,



• transfusion of blood products in cases of severe bleeding,



• antibiotics for secondary bacterial infections,



• dialysis for kidney failure,



• endotracheal intubation (placement of a breathing tube) and mechanical ventilation in cases of respiratory distress.

Acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) should be avoided because of the increased risk of bleeding.

For the first few days of illness, infected individuals should also be isolated indoors and/or under mosquito netting in order to prevent further mosquito exposure, thus eliminating the potential for further transmission of the disease.