Yellow Fever Vaccine
Yellow Fever Vaccine
What Is Yellow Fever?
- High fever
- Chills and muscle aches
- Yellowing of the skin, known as jaundice
What Is the Yellow Fever Vaccine?
Who Should Get Vaccinated and When?
What Are the Risks Associated With Yellow Fever Vaccine?
- Soreness, swelling, or redness at the injection site
- Muscle aches
- Nervous system reaction
- Severe allergic reaction
- Organ failure
Who Should Not Get Vaccinated?
- Infants aged 6 months or younger—In rare cases when your 6-8 month-old baby must travel to high-risk areas, talk to the doctor about the vaccine.
- People over the age of 60 are at higher risk for serious complications. If you are traveling to a high-risk area, consult an infectious disease specialist to find out if vaccination is a good choice for you.
- Are severely allergic to eggs, chicken, or gelatin
- Have a disease that weakens the immune system, such as HIV infection—If you are traveling to high-risk areas, talk to your doctor about the vaccine.
- Are receiving treatments that weaken the immune system, such as cancer treatment
- Have cancer
- Have problems with the thymus or have had their thymus removed
- Are pregnant—Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of the vaccine if you are traveling to a high-risk area. If you are vaccinated, your doctor may use a blood test to confirm immunity.
- Are breastfeeding—If you are traveling to high-risk areas, talk to your doctor about the vaccine.
What Other Ways Can Yellow Fever Be Prevented Besides Vaccination?
- Use insect repellent
- Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants
- Stay in screened areas
What Happens in the Event of an Outbreak?
WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION?
Vaccine and Immunizations Centers for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines
World Health Organization http://www.who.int
Jentes ES, Poumerol G, Gershman MD, et al. The revised global yellow fever risk map and recommendations for vaccination, 2010: consensus of the Informal WHO Working Group on Geographic Risk for Yellow Fever. Lancet Infect Dis. 2011;11(8):622-632.
Khromava AY, Eidex RB, Weld LH, et al. Yellow Fever Vaccine Safety Working Group. Yellow fever vaccine: an updated assessment of advanced age as a risk factor for serious adverse events. Vaccine. 2005;23(25):3256-63.
Staples JE, Gershman M, Fischer M. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Yellow fever vaccine: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). MMWR Recomm Rep. 2010;59(RR-7):1-27.
Thomas RE, Lorenzetti DL, Spragins W, Jackson D, Williamson T. Active and passive surveillance of yellow fever vaccine 17D or 17DD-associated serious adverse events: systematic review. Vaccine. 2011;29(28):4544-4555.
Vaccines & immunizations. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines. Updated May 22, 2015. Accessed June 2, 2015.
Vaccine Education Center. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia website. Available at: http://www.chop.edu/service/vaccine-education-center/home.html. Updated March 2013. Accessed June 2, 2015.
Yellow fever vaccine. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed. Updated January 18, 2013. Accessed June 2, 2015.
Yellow fever VIS. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/yf.html. Updated June 18, 2013. Accessed June 2, 2015.
2/19/2010 DynaMed's Systematic Literature Surveillance http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed: Transmission of yellow fever vaccine virus through breast-feeding—Brazil, 2009. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). 2010;59(05):130.
5/28/2013 DynaMed's Systematic Literature Surveillance http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed: World Health Organization. Weekly Epidemiological Record. 2013 May 17; 88 (20): 201-16. Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Available at: http://www.who.int/wer/2013/wer8820/en/index.html. Accessed June 19, 2014.
- Reviewer: David L. Horn, MD, FACP
- Review Date: 06/2015 -
- Update Date: 06/19/2014 -