Overview
- Yellow fever is caused by a virus that is transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. The word “yellow” in the name refers to the jaundice from liver damage that affects some patients, causing a yellowing of their skin and eyes.
- Yellow fever is found in tropical areas of Africa and South America.
- There is no cure for yellow fever. Fortunately, the majority of infected patients improve and their symptoms disappear after 3 to 4 days. However, 15% of patients enter a second, more toxic, phase of the disease. About half of the patients who enter the second phase die within 10 to 14 days, the rest recover.
- Vaccination is the best defense against yellow fever.
- International Travel: This vaccine is recommended for certain travelers to areas where yellow fever can occur. Proof of vaccination against yellow fever is required for entry into certain countries. In the United States, yellow fever vaccine is only available in designated yellow fever vaccination centers.
Yellow Fever Vaccine Schedule
People (older than 9 months of age) should only be vaccinated if they are at risk of exposure to the yellow fever virus or require proof of vaccination for country entry. For most people, a single lifetime dose of vaccine is effective in protecting from yellow fever. The vaccine is available only in designated facilities authorized to administer yellow fever vaccine.
Partner Resources
General
General information about the disease and vaccination from CDC.
Questions and answers about yellow fever disease and vaccines from the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Travel
Access the yellow fever chapter of the CDC Yellow Book for travel-associated infections and diseases. This resource is intended for healthcare professionals, but its information is also useful for travelers.
Search yellow fever vaccination recommendations by country.
Find health and vaccine information by selecting any country.
Facilities that administer yellow fever vaccine are authorized to issue an International Certificate of Vaccination (the “yellow card”) to meet requirements for proof of yellow fever vaccination. These facilities typically offer a wide range of vaccines travelers may need.
The online global clinic directory is a database of International Society of Travel Medicine members and their global travel clinics. Users can search by location and by services offered.
Reconnaissance for Yellow Fever in the Nuba Mountains, Southern Sudan, 1954
An Epidemiological Expedition into the Interior of Africa: In the early 1950s, Dr. Telford H. Work and Dr. Richard Moreland Taylor traveled to the Sudan to study an outbreak of yellow fever. Flying to Khartoum, they took their equipment by train to El Obeid, and by jeep to the Nuba Mountains (spanning the southern part of the present-day post-partition Sudan and the northern part of South Sudan). Accompanied by Dr. Mansour Ali Haseeb, they wound their way through the region, collecting blood samples from people and primates, and ended at Wau, from which the samples were airlifted back to Khartoum. The film was originally silent. Produced in its current form by Dr. Martine Jozan Work, it lies at the juncture of home movie, expeditionary report, and documentary.
People of any age can feel a bit anxious about getting a shot. Some may be so anxious that they avoid vaccination…even when they know it’s important. Learn more about simple ways to help any child or adult feel better and more confident when getting vaccinated.
State and local information for vaccination resources near you.
CDC’s Search for Yellow Fever Vaccination Clinics