Yellow Fever
By: Celia Daniels
Yellow Fever is a deadly killer with no cure. it has killed thousands of people throughout the world. The disease is most common in tropic or sub-tropic climate. It is most common in these climates because the mosquito that carry the disease need moist or wet areas to raise their young.
First Phase of Symptoms
There are two phases of symptoms that Yellow Fever causes. The first symptoms usually appear six days after the virus entering your body. Some symptoms include:
- Fever
- Headache
- Sore muscles
- Sensitivity to light
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- A Loss of appetite
- Have red eyes tongue or face
Second Phase Of Symptoms
The first Phase is over but Yellow fever isn't done yet. the disease comes back stronger than before with some symptoms, such as:
- Yellowing of the skin or eyes
- stomach pain
- vomiting (containing blood)
- A decreased need to urinate
- A decreased heart rate
- unusual bleeding from mouth, nose or ears
- Liver or kidney failure
- brain dysfunction
- seizures
- comas
Prevention
Yellow Fever doesn't have a cure but there are some simple ways to prevent catching it! some of these ways are:
- Getting a vaccine
- avoiding unnecessary activity outdoor activity when mosquito are most active
- wear long sleeves and long pants in mosquito infested area
- staying in air conditioned, well netted housing
- if your host has improper housing netting sleep inside a bed net
- wear skin or non skin mosquito repellent ( skin repellent is a spray that goes on your skin and keeps away mosquito. Non skin repellent you spray on clothes, tent, coats, etc. )
June 1900
Dr.Walter Reed was sent to Cuba to research yellow fever while Carlos Finlay stayed behind to try to prove mosquito spread the disease. once Reed arrived he heard of a american soldier that had contracted the disease. that was his first encounter with the disease. he called his first meeting with his team to organize and start the research.
July 1900
Reed heard of a town 100 miles away that has infected people. Reed and his team and discovered that it didn't spread from person to person contact. Later that July Reed and his team through many interviews and questions that mosquito were the main suspect in transmission so they took a visit to Carlos Finlay. They than devoted their research to mosquito and and eventually the work payed off. they had discovered that mosquito were indeed the transmission of yellow fever
Additional History Facts
In 1793 around 4044 people in Philadelphia caught the Yellow fever and died and between the 1800s and 1900 it killed about 100,000 people. since may 1900 Walter Reed had been studying insects and wondering about the possible relationship between mosquito and Yellow Fever. A hospital is named after Dr.Walter Reed
Bibliography
Human Yellow Fever Symptoms. Digital image. Flickr. Flickr, 27 Feb. 2013. Web. 18 Dec. 2014.
Jurmain, Suzanne. The Secret of the Yellow Death: A True Story of Medical Sleuthing. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2009. Print.
Yellow fever bactirium. Digital image. Flickr. Flickr, 29 July 2014. Web. 18 Dec. 2014.
"Yellow Fever (jungle Yellow Fever, Urban Yellow Fever)." New York State. Nev York State. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.
"Yellow Fever." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.