An Overview of Yellow Fever Virus Disease

Yellow fever virus (YFV) is a potential deadly mosquito-borne flavivirus currently endemic in parts of equatorial Africa and South America, with previous circulation in parts of North America.1,2 It can be transmitted to humans through the bites of certain Aedes or Haemagogus species of mosquitoes and has distinct transmission cycles in the jungle (sylvatic cycle), in the African savannah (intermediate cycle), and in cities (urban cycle).1,2 Within urban areas, YFV can rapidly spread due to mosquito–human–mosquito transmission (usually involving Aedes aegypti mosquitoes).1,2 Recently, there have been deadly outbreaks of YFV disease in Angola (2016), in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2016), and in Brazil (2017).