Diseases Carried by Insects

Communicable Period
The time during which an infectious agent
may be transferred directly or indirectly
from

an

person,

infected
from

an

person to
infected

another

animal

to

humans, or from an infected person to

animals, including arthropods

Communicable Period
The time during which the patient is
infectious to others

Incubation Period
The time interval between initial contact
with an infectious agent and the first
appearance of symptoms associated with
the infection.

Incubation Period
In a vector, it is the time between entrance
of an organism into the vector and the
time when that vector can transmit the
infection (extrinsic incubation period).

Quarantine
Separating and restricting the movement
of well persons who may have been
exposed to a communicable disease to
see if they become ill

Isolation
Separation of ill persons who have a
communicable disease from those who
are healthy

YELLOW FEVER

Introduction
Yellow fever is a viral disease, found in
tropical regions of Africa and the Americas

It

principally

affects

humans

and

monkeys, and is transmitted via the bite of

Aedes mosquitoes

Introduction
There are 200,000 estimated cases of
yellow fever (with 30,000 deaths) per year

Incubation Period
Three to six days

MOT
The virus is carried from one animal to
another (horizontal transmission) by a
biting mosquito (the vector). The mosquito
can also pass the virus via infected eggs
to its offspring (vertical transmission)
There are three types of transmission
cycle: Sylvatic, Intermediate, Urban

Sylvatic Yellow Fever

Sylvatic (or jungle) yellow fever occurs in
tropical rainforests
Sylvatic Mosquitoes
monkeys
virus onto other mosquitoes that feed on
them
infect humans entering the
forest
This produces sporadic cases, the
majority of which are often young men
working in the forest e.g. logging

Intermediate Cycle Of Yellow Fever

Small-scale epidemics in rural villages
Increased contact between man and
infected mosquito leads to disease
This is the most common type of outbreak
seen in recent decades in Africa

Urban Yellow Fever

Results in large explosive epidemics when
travelers from rural areas introduce the
virus

into

areas

with

high

human

population density. Domestic mosquitoes,

most notably Aedes Aegypti, carry the
virus from person to person.

Signs & Symptoms

Acute Phase:
Fever
Muscle pain (with prominent backache)
Headache
Shivers
Loss of appetite
Nausea and/or vomiting
After three to four days most patients
improve and their symptoms disappear

Signs & Symptoms

15% enter a "toxic phase" within 24 hours
Fever reappear
Jaundice and complains of abdominal
pain with vomiting
Bleeding can occur from the mouth, nose,
eyes and/or stomach

Signs & Symptoms

Blood appears in the vomit and faeces.
Kidney failure
Half of the patients in the "toxic phase" die
within 10-14 days. The remainder recover
without significant organ damage

Prevention
Administering yellow fever vaccine as
part of routine infant immunization
Preventing outbreaks in high-risk areas
through mass "catch-up" campaigns
Control of Aedes aegypti in urban
centres

Prevention
Yellow fever vaccine is safe and highly
effective. The protective effect (immunity)
occurs within one week in 95% of people
vaccinated. A single dose of vaccine
provides protection for 10 years and
probably for life

Type of vaccine

Live viral

No. of doses
Schedule

One dose of 0.5 ml subcutaneously

Routine immunization with measles vaccine at nine
months of age

Booster

International health regulations require a booster

every 10 years

Contraindications

Egg allergy; immune deficiency from medication or

disease; symptomatic HIV infection;
hypersensitivity to previous dose; pregnancy*

Adverse
reactions

Hypersensitivity to egg; rarely, encephalitis in the

very young; hepatic failure. Rare reports of death
from massive organ failure (see above).

Special
precautions

Do not give before six months of age; avoid during

pregnancy

 Receptive Area: an area in which yellow

fever does not exist but where conditions
would permit its development if introduced
Aedes Aegypti Index: the percentage of
houses and their premises in a limited well
defined area showing actual breeding of
aedes aegypti larvae