Difference between Yellow Fever and Dengue Fever
Aside from the annoying noise the female mosquitoes produce and the perceived threat that a simple sting is imminent, some species are carriers for the yellow fever and dengue fever pathogenic agents as well.
The population most vulnerable to yellow fever is in Africa. This is a result of the fact that most people living there are not vaccinated. On average, 30,000 deaths occur each year due to yellow fever, 90% of them happening on the African continent.
Dengue fever is a widespread phenomenon affecting people on all continents. According to the World Health Organization, 50 million cases arise each year due largely to that fact that there is no approved vaccine for dengue fever.
Definition
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease transmitted through the bite of the female mosquito.
The dengue fever is an acute viral febrile disease transmitted by mosquitoes.
Symptoms
A person shows signs of yellow fever after an incubation period of three to sixty days. The symptoms in the first stage are high fever, headache, chills, back pain and loss of appetite. This may last up to four days and then the body recovers. In 15% of cases, the disease has a second stage where the fever is recurrent and the skin has a yellowish pigmentation, which is an exterior sign of the damages suffered by the liver. Abdominal pain accompanies the fever and the patient usually vomits blood. In 20% of the cases, the second stage leads to death.
Dengue fever has the following symptoms: high fever, headache and pain in the whole body which has determined people to call it the break-bone fever. Rashes are also common in these cases. The patient feels strong retro orbital pain and stomach pain and hemorrhages can happen in later stages of the illness. This process can take up to seven days.
Prevention
To prevent the occurrence of yellow fever, each person traveling to tropical and subtropical areas of Africa and South America should get a vaccination ten days before leaving the country. which is the period required for the protection to be effective. The vaccine lasts for ten years. Measures are taken by local authorities to fight against the mosquito species which transmits the yellow fever. Actions usually target larva as well as adult populations.
There isn't currently an approved vaccine on the market to prevent dengue fever but research is currently being conducted on 11 projects. Some have passed in the second or third phase of testing. In some rural communities in Australia and Vietnam, people have tried to place a water bug called Mesocyclops in their water tanks to act as a natural predator for the mosquito.
Similarities and Differences
- Yellow fever and the dengue fever are acute viral diseases transmitted by a species of mosquito.
- Symptoms include high fever, headaches, abdominal pain, vomiting and hemorrhages.
- There is a vaccine for the yellow fever. For dengue fever, research is still conducted to come up with a valid vaccine.
