Yellow fever is a classic viral hemorrhagic fever and is an example of diseases of antiquity. It was first described in 1667 in Barbados. The name of the disease is derived from the appearance of those infected (usually a yellow tinted skin). It was earlier called as Yellow Jack because jaundice is a prominent sign in severe cases. Devastating epidemics of yellow fever were prevalent in the Americas, Europe and Africa from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. The mortality rate for yellow fever is about 20% (Narins 2003).
Cause
Yellow fever virus belongs to the genus Flavivirus (Family: Flaviviridae) and is the ...