Yellow Fever Vaccine

About Yellow Fever Vaccine

Max Theiler developed the yellow fever vaccine at the Rockefeller Foundation. The 17D strain vaccine was licensed in 1938. Theiler won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1951, the first Nobel Prize awarded for the development of a vaccine. Yellow fever is a mosquito borne disease found in tropical Africa and South America. The disease causes jaundice, bleeding, and organ failure. The World Health Organization considers a single dose sufficient for lifelong protection for most people. Under the International Health Regulations, some countries require proof of yellow fever vaccination for entry. Yellow fever vaccination campaigns have reduced cases dramatically. However, urban yellow fever remains a risk as Aedes aegypti mosquitoes spread into new areas. Vaccine production problems have caused shortages during outbreaks, particularly the 2016 Angola outbreak that depleted global stockpiles.