Yellow Fever: The Danger & Preventions
Yellow fever is no joke! You hear that right. When a person infected by this disease, the pain can be excruciating.
Symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, yellowing skin, high fever and chills can be such a torture for the ones who having it.
And the fact that there are more than thousands of travelers are infected by this disease each month, it is more than enough reason for you to get vaccinated before traveling to countries with high numbers of infected yellow fever patients.
What is yellow fever?
It is an acute viral disease caused by mosquito's bites. The mosquito that are transferring this disease is Aedes aegypti. Its the same kind of mosquito that cause dengue fever.
This disease, unfortunately, cannot be confirmed until six to ten days after the illness. That is why prevention is a must.
Types of yellow fever prevention
There are ways to prevent yellow fever disease.
First, you need to reduce exposure to mosquitoes the best you can.
You can do this by covering your skin with long-sleeved shirts and long pants
Stay indoors in places with air-conditioning system and in places with good screening set like window nets etc.
You want to avoid any outdoor activities during dusk, dawn, and early evening when the mosquitoes are active during these times.
You need to put mosquito repellent as often as possible especially when you are going to places swarm of this beast.
It's best to cover all water exposure spots, especially around the ones around your house. You don't want these mosquitoes to able to breed around your neighborhood.
Vaccinate yourself and your family member. Vaccination is advisable especially for those who are going to countries with a lot of yellow fever infection cases.
It is advisable to have vaccination even if you are not planning to go anywhere to prevent unwanted events caused by this disease to happen to you or your family member.
The vaccination of yellow fever can only be offered by licensed clinics. These are clinics where the staff have undergone the appropriate training.
If you live in Greater Toronto Area, there is a clinic that serve people with this type of vaccination.
This clinic is Travel Medical Clinic. They have three places you can go to. They have clinics in Toronto, Mississauga/Etobicoke, and North York. You can check out their FAQ page on their site.