Yellow Fever: Origin, Epidemiology, Preventive Strategies and Future Prospects

Yellow fever (YF) virus still represents a major threat in low resource countries in both South America and Africa despite the presence of an effective vaccine. YF outbreaks are not only due to insufficient vaccine coverage for insufficient vaccine supply, but also to the increase in people without history of vaccination living in endemic areas. Globalization, continuous population growth, urbanization associated with inadequate public health infrastructure, and climate changes constitute important promoting factors for the spread of this virus to tropical and subtropical areas in mosquito-infested regions capable of spreading the disease. In the present review, we focus on the origin of the virus and its transmission, representing two debated topics throughout the nineteenth century, going deeply into the history of YF vaccines until the development of the vaccine still used nowadays. Besides surveillance, we highlight the urgent need of routine immunization and vaccination campaigns associated to diverse and innovative mosquito control technologies in endemic areas for YF virus in order to minimize the risk of new YF outbreaks and the global burden of YF in the future.

Automated summary

Despite the availability of an effective vaccine, yellow fever virus remains a major threat in low resource countries in South America and Africa. Factors such as globalization, population growth, urbanization, inadequate public health infrastructure, and climate change contribute to the spread of the virus to mosquito-infested tropical and subtropical areas. In addition to surveillance, routine immunization, vaccination campaigns, and innovative mosquito control technologies are urgently needed to minimize the risk of new outbreaks and the global burden of yellow fever in the future.