Page last updated
31 January 2022
The first symptoms of yellow fever appear 3-6 days after exposure to the virus. These symptoms are known as stage one of the disease, and may include:
- fever
- nausea
- vomiting
- flushed face
- constipation
- stomach pains
- headache
- muscle pain
- restlessness and irritability.
These symptoms last for approximately 3-4 days and then settle over another couple of days. In mild cases, the infection ends here. In more severe cases (approx. 15-25%), this is followed by serious symptoms know as stage two (toxic stage). About 50% of the people that reach this stage will die. Symptoms in stage two include:
- high fever
- pain in the upper part of the abdomen with vomiting of black ‘coffee grounds’ /bleeding
- jaundice (yellow skin and eyes)
- kidney failure
- liver failure
- death.
Yellow fever is a serious disease - urgent medical advice is needed if you have travelled to an area where yellow fever is present and you develop similar symptoms.