Yellow fever is a disease thought to have originated in primates that eventually passed to humans through infected mosquitoes. The origins of yellow fever are believed to be in sub- Saharan Africa or other places with a tropical climate. The first cases of yellow fever in the United States likely arrived on boats transporting slaves from Africa. In 1773 a yellow fever outbreak occurred in Philadelphia, the capital of the United States at the time, causing political figures such as George Washington to flee. This outbreak ended up killing ten percent of Philadelphia's population. After this devastating event, precautions were taken in hopes of stopping the spread of yellow fever.

Those who become infected with yellow fever typically feel mild symptoms such as chills, headache, and body aches that go away after a few days. About fifteen percent of those who get infected get seriously ill. Eventually, due to high fever and, in some cases, internal bleeding, the infected person will die. The term “yellow fever” comes from the yellow skin and eyes caused by organ failure, symptoms that were often used to dramatic effect by artists depicting the disease. There is still no cure for yellow fever, but due to vaccines, the number of infected people is far less than it was historically.

The yellow fever vaccine is widely administered and is even a mandatory vaccine when traveling to some countries. According to the Worldwide Health Organization, countries such as Australia, Cambodia, India, and many more require a yellow fever vaccine. Though there is a vaccine, yellow fever still infects and kills thousands of unvaccinated people yearly.

References

"Yellow Fever." Webmd.com. Accessed April 15, 2020.

"Yellow Fever Vaccine." Wikipedia. Accessed April 15, 2020.

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Researching Yellow Fever and how the world reacted to outbreaks and eventually how scientists were able to create a vaccine has been strangely comforting. With all of the medical advances that we have today, it was easy to feel like we were safe from a pandemic like COVID-19. Obviously, that is not the case, and we are learning to deal with the repercussions of a disease that we were not equipped for. Learning about Yellow Fever gives a glimmer of hope into the future. When Yellow Fever first started affecting people, no one knew what it was or how it came to be. Some doctors thought the illness was brought on by pollution. As time went on and more people suffered, doctors and scientists created a vaccine that prevents people from the suffering and death that Yellow Fever causes.

Yellow Fever and COVID-19 seem very similar in that no one knew how to deal with them at first. No one knew how one got infected or even how badly one would suffer because it varied so much from case to case. Also, so much misinformation was circulated it was hard to know what was true and what was not. Looking back at Yellow Fever and how communities came together to fight it gives hope to the future of the world with COVID-19.