Yellow fever treatment

Treatments with immune globulin vaccines are useful against Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever, Rift Valley fever, Bolivian hemorrhagic fever, and Lassa fever Yellow fever vaccine is the only established and licensed vaccine for a hemorrhagic fever several others are under development... 

An example of the kind of thinking of 18th century physicians that could lead to such ineffective or positively harmful recommendations is Benjamin Rush s treatment of the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia in 1793 (see Powell, 1949). Dr. Rush was one of the most highly respected physicians in North America in the 18th century. 

John T. Metcalfe, Report of a Committee of the Associate Members of the Sanitary Commission on the Nature and Treatment of Yellow Fever, Sanitary Commission, Q (New York Wm. C. Bryant and Co., 1862), p. 25. 

Prostratin (73) was isolated as the active constituent from an extract of the wood of the tree, Homalanthus nutans,a plant identified hy ethnobotanist Paul Cox as being used by traditional healers in Samoa for the treatment of yellow fever (subsequently identified as viral hepatitis). Interviews were conducted with traditional healers under terms of a covenant negotiated with the chiefs and orators in the village of Falealupo and with the concurrence of the Samoan Prime Minister and members of parliament." "... 

Ribavirin is an antiviral drug with efficacy for treatment of the arenaviruses and bunyaviruses. Passively administered antibody is also effective in therapy of some viral hemorrhagic fevers. The only licensed vaccine available for VHF agents is for yellow fever. Experimental vaccines exist for Junin, RVF, hantaan, and dengue viruses, but these will not be licensed in the near future. 

Roukens AH, Visser LG, Kroon FP. A note of caution on yellow fever vaccination during maraviroc treatment a hypothesis on a potential dangerous interaction. AIDS 2009 23(4) 542-3. 

Traditional Medicine. Used in treating amenorrhea, postpartum and labor pains, uterine disorders, support for natural uterine contractions during labor, cough, dropsy, fever, nervous disorders, smallpox, yellow fever, lumbago, pain of acute rheumatism, headache, hysteria, nervous system disorders, influenza, and itch. Used by American Indian tribes as a galactogogue, diuretic, to stimulate menstruation, and in the treatment of colds, rheumatic pains, constipation, coughs, and kidney problems (moerman). 

There is no known cure for either yellow fever or dengue fever and treatment is generally symptomatic with supportive care only. Despite some animal model evidence to suggest benefit, ribavirin has not yet been shown to be an effective treatment for either yellow or dengue... 

Pre-exposure prophylaxis is a treatment provided in advance of potential exposure to a specific, or suspected, threat organism. It may take the form of a vaccination schedule or regular medical therapy, such as an oral antibiotic dose. The aim of pre-exposure treatment is to target individuals identified as being at increased risk of exposure. This may include a regional or national p>opulation at risk of endemic diseases such as yellow fever, or a more specific population, for example military personnel prior to operational duty in an area of high risk of exposure to a deliberate bioweapon release. 

Response to potential illness resulting from infection by arthropod-bome pathogens is as important as attempts to prevent the exposure. Individuals who inform thanselves about the threat of disease associated with arthropods in their area should learn the simple, initial symptoms of those diseases. Unusual rash, fever up to 2 weeks after exposure to the biles, or even a feeling of illness out of the ordinary should be the occasion to seek medical attention and to point out to the physician that bites have occurred. Bacterial pathogens such as those that cause typhus, spotted fever, Lyme disease, and the ehrlichioses can be treated with antibiotics. Malaria usually respouds well to treatment with special drugs for that purpose. Delay in treatment can result in much more serious cou-sequences. Viral infections such as dengue. West Nile, or yellow fever can only be addressed with supportive therapy, but in some cases, that therapy can make the difference between life and death. 

Achyranthes aspera (family Amaranthaceae) is an indigenous medicinal plant of Asia and is commonly used by traditional healers for the treatment of malarial fever, dysentery, asthma, hypertension and diabetes (Girach and Khan, 1992). A root extract is also used to treat scorpion and snake bites by Indian tribes. A typical yellows and small leaves symptoms... 

Traditional Medicine. Cinchona is used in treating malaria, fevers, indigestion, and for mouth and throat problems, usually in the form of an infusion has been used in China to treat hangovers also reportedly used in cancers." An infusion of yellow cinchona was used by the Cherokee Indians as a tonic and treatment for impotence (moerman). 

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