3.5 Yellow fever vaccine
Finally, we will briefly mention an antiviral vaccine that is not part of the routine EPI in Ethiopia, but is given in certain circumstances. Yellow fever vaccine is a live-attenuated antiviral vaccine, supplied as a powder which must be reconstituted with the appropriate diluent before use. It is not included in the national EPI in Ethiopia because the risk is very low, but it is given to people who want to travel abroad to countries like Kenya and Uganda where yellow fever is endemic. Some countries (like the USA and South Africa) require a current yellow fever vaccination certificate as a condition of entry from Ethiopia. Yellow fever is a viral vector-borne disease, transmitted by certain species of mosquitoes when they take a blood meal. Infection can result in a high fever, nausea and internal bleeding leading to shock, and in extreme cases, death.
Yellow fever vaccine is a live-attenuated vaccine. Which other antiviral vaccines of this type have you already learnt about in this study session?
Measles vaccine and OPV are also live-attenuated vaccines.
Mild reactions to yellow fever vaccine occur occasionally and include headache, muscle pain or low-grade fever.
3.4.2 Storage and effectiveness of RotarixTM