There has been a lot of rain this Spring and if you live in certain areas then there are likely to be big pools of still water where kids play. These pools of water could be in the playground or in the parks. They could be in gutters on the road. It is common to find pools of water in your back yard or near eves troughs that have not been fixed. Still water also collects inside of old flowerpots that have been left out and deflated swimming pools.
Still water, which is also stagnant water is a big threat to public health. Yellow fever is a tropical disease that is spread by the yellow fever mosquito in parts of Africa and South America and the disease is spread by still water.
Yellow fever is not to be confused with Jungle Yellow Fever, which is a disease, spread from monkeys to mosquitoes to humans. Sometimes to make the differentiation the kind of yellow fever that is spread by mosquitoes only is referred to as Urban Yellow Fever. Jungle yellow fever is actually quite rare.
Yellow is much more common and it is spread by mosquitoes from human to human. The yellow fever mosquito that carries the disease is known as the Aides Egypt. These urban disease carriers make their home in still water in cities, towns and villages. Anything that can hold water such as discarded oiled drum and tires makes an excellent breeding ground for the yellow fever mosquito. As it rains frequently in both South American and African jungles they breed constantly in muck and puddles of still water.
There is no predicting whether or not a bite from a yellow fever mosquito is going to lead to a mild or life threatening illness. It really depends on the strains of infection that are around that particular year. The good news is that most cases of yellow fever, although uncomfortable are relatively mild.
Yellow fever gets its name from the fact that it can cause jaundice, which causes the whites of the eyes and the skin to turn yellow. Symptoms of a life threatening infection are high fever, headache, chills, backache, headache, muscle aches and vomiting. Sometimes the disease has a cycle where the person appears to get much better after a few days and then takes a severe turn for the worse, which can lead to shock, internal bleeding, liver and kidney favor. However this strain of the infection that is carried by the yellow fever mosquito is a lot rare.
Unfortunately there is no real specific treatment for yellow fever. People who contract it are advised to rest and drink plenty of fluids. Another essential part of the treatment is the use of mosquito repellents and nets to keep female yellow fever mosquitoes from biting the infected individual and spreading it to another human. Of course a big part of prevention is removing still water form the vicinity.
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