Yellow Fever Vaccine Shortages in the United States and Abroad: A Critical Issue
Authors: Daniel R. Lucey, Halsie Donaldson
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2017)

Ideas and Opinions7 November 2017Yellow Fever Vaccine Shortages in the United States and Abroad: A Critical IssueDaniel R. Lucey, MD, MPH and Halsie Donaldson, MSDaniel R. Lucey, MD, MPHFrom Georgetown University, Washington, DC. and Halsie Donaldson, MSFrom Georgetown University, Washington, DC.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M17-1337 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Yellow fever (YF) virus, a flavivirus that infects the liver, causes a self-limited febrile syndrome in 85% of patients. In the other 15%, however, it causes jaundice, bleeding, and renal damage, and half of these patients die. No antiviral therapy exists. In urban settings, YF virus is transmitted between humans by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, as are Zika, dengue, and other viruses. Outside urban settings, in the jungle or forest ("sylvatic cycle"), YF transmission occurs between monkeys and from monkeys to humans via non-Aedes mosquitoes (1).The United States had YF epidemics in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the 20th ...References1. Lucey D, Gostin LO. A yellow fever epidemic: a new global health emergency? JAMA. 2016;315:2661-2. [PMID: 27158803] doi:10.1001/jama.2016.6606 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Paules CI, Fauci AS. Yellow fever—once again on the radar screen in the Americas. N Engl J Med. 2017;376:1397-1399. [PMID: 28273000] doi:10.1056/NEJMp1702172 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. World Health Organization. Amendment to international health regulations (2005), annex 7 (yellow fever): term of protection provided by vaccination against yellow fever infection, and validity of related IHR certificate of vaccination, extended to life of the person vaccinated. 11 July 2016. Accessed at www.who.int/ith/annex7-ihr.pdf on 29 May 2017. Google Scholar4. 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World Health Organization. WHO dispatched 3.5 million doses of yellow fever vaccine for outbreak response in Brazil. 30 March 2017. Accessed at www.who.int/csr/disease/yellowfev/vaccination-in-Brazil/en on 30 May 2016. Google Scholar9. World Health Organization. Global Strategy to Eliminate Yellow fever Epidemics (EYE). 26 September 2016. Accessed at www.who.int/immunization/sage/meetings/2016/october/2_EYE_Strategy.pdf on 29 May 2017. Google Scholar10. Røttingen JA, Gouglas D, Feinberg M, Plotkin S, Raghavan KV, Witty A, et al. New vaccines against epidemic infectious diseases. N Engl J Med. 2017;376:610-613. [PMID: 28099066] doi:10.1056/NEJMp1613577 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Georgetown University, Washington, DC.Disclosures: Authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M17-1337.Corresponding Author: Daniel R. Lucey, MD, MPH, Adjunct Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3800 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007; e-mail, [email protected]edu.Current Author Addresses: Dr. Lucey: Adjunct Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3800 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007.Ms. Donaldson: Georgetown University School of Medicine, 3900 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007.Author Contributions: Conception and design: D.R. Lucey, H. Donaldson.Analysis and interpretation of the data: D.R. Lucey, H. Donaldson.Drafting of the article: D.R. Lucey, H. Donaldson.Critical revision of the article for important intellectual content: D.R. Lucey, H. Donaldson.Final approval of the article: D.R. Lucey, H. Donaldson.Administrative, technical, or logistic support: H. Donaldson.Collection and assembly of data: D.R. Lucey, H. Donaldson.This article was published at Annals.org on 26 September 2017. 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Ryan, MD 7 November 2017Volume 167, Issue 9Page: 664-665KeywordsCell culturesDNA vaccinationFeversHemorrhageInfectious diseasesLiverMosquitoesPathogensProphylaxisVaccines ePublished: 26 September 2017 Issue Published: 7 November 2017 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2017 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...