Annals of Internal Medicine | November 7, 2017
Read the PublicationYellow fever (YF) virus, a flavivirus that infects the liver, causes a self-limited febrile syndrome in 85% of patients. In the other 15%, however, it causes jaundice, bleeding, and renal damage, and half of these patients die. No antiviral therapy exists. In urban settings, YF virus is transmitted between humans by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, as are Zika, dengue, and other viruses. Outside urban settings, in the jungle or forest (“sylvatic cycle”), YF transmission occurs between monkeys and from monkeys to humans via non-Aedes mosquitoes.