How to avoid Yellow Fever infection.
Yellow fever is common in Africa, South and Central America but surprisingly not in Asia. Why it is not found in Asia is inexplicable though racial resistance is suspected.
Epidemic outbreaks have occurred from time to time in the past in Sudan, Ethiopia, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria and the Gambia. For Nigerians who travel to Central and South America, the disease is found in Honduras, parts of Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador.
Yellow fever is an infectious disease of sudden onset which is characterized by fever, yellowness of the eyes, bleeding from the nose/mouth/anus, body pains, headache etc. It could be confused with Hepatitis (infection of the liver), malaria, dengue fever and even Ebola fever. Differentiation is by laboratory tests.
It is caused by a virus which is carried by a specific type of mosquito from man to man or from monkey to man.
Yellow fever is spread by a mosquito which carries the virus from an infected person or monkey to another person.
The symptoms of yellow fever include sudden onset of fever, yellowness of the eyes, dark urine, bloody stool, bleeding from the nose/mouth, body pains etc. Consult a doctor if you or your family member has the symptoms above for thorough examination and laboratory investigations.
Yellow fever is a notifiable disease and certain countries still insist on yellow vaccination for travelers from countries where the disease is common before entry.
Yellow fever affects man and monkeys and can spread from monkeys to man.
A full recovery from an infection confers lifelong immunity.
1. Use of Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets
To get yellow fever, you have to be bitten by a mosquito that has the virus,
as long as you are not bitten by such mosquito, you cannot have yellow fever.
Sleeping inside” long lasting insecticide treated nets” saves you from
mosquito bites.
Part of the activities of “roll back malaria” is the
distribution of these treated mosquito nets to individuals, mostly
pregnant women which protects against mosquito bites
Please ensure that you get this net and also use it when you get it.
2. Regular Spraying of your home; inside and outside
Regular fumigation of your home reduces the mosquito population in your
house, this is called Indoor Residual Spraying. The outside of the building
should also be sprayed.
This should be done every three months but it is expensive. The Local
Government Council usually has a unit that does the spraying at affordable
cost.
No mosquitoes, no yellow fever.
3. Use of wire meshing on windows and doors.
Wire meshing on windows and doors prevents mosquitoes from entering the
house but you could be bitten by them if you went out not properly dressed.
No mosquitoes, no yellow fever.
4. Use of full-length clothes in the evening/night.
Wearing full-length clothes in the evening and night saves you from
mosquito bites; trousers and long sleeved shirts.
No mosquitoes, no yellow fever.
5. Proper Management of your environment
Managing your environment can reduce the number of mosquitoes around you.
If allowed, cover the drainages around your home. All possible containers
of static water must be removed from the premises, this includes used
tyres, broken bottles, tins, and any other materials that can retain water.
This is meant to prevent the growth of mosquitoes.
6.Vaccination.
Prevention on personal basis is by vaccination. A vaccination against yellow fever gives protection for about 10 years effective after 10 days of the vaccination.
No Comments