Effective yellow fever surveillance is dependent on sensitive detection and comprehensive investigation to enable timely detection and prevent large-scale outbreaks. Achieving these goals requires engaged and knowledgeable health personnel working at all levels, including clinicians, surveillance and laboratory personnel, and public health practitioners.
This course provides an overview of the key considerations at the different levels of the surveillance structures, starting from recognition and reporting at the field level, through to laboratory diagnostics for confirmation, and the ongoing data management and analysis. Applying the principles outlined in these modules will help ensure rapid detection of yellow fever cases and improve the understanding of yellow fever risk and help with its control.
Photo credits: WHO / NOOR / Benedicte Kurzen
Language: English
Yellow fever
Course information
This course is available in these following languages:
Overview: Yellow fever is a vaccine-preventable mosquito-borne disease capable of causing high-impact large-scale outbreaks with risk of international spread. The virus is endemic in parts of Africa and the Americas. People infected with yellow fever can develop severe disease with acute febrile jaundice (approximately 15% of all infections), accompanied by haemorrhagic symptoms, end-organ failure and death.
Effective case-based surveillance for yellow fever can help detect outbreaks early and prevent spread to new areas. Early identification, detailed investigation and diagnostic testing for laboratory confirmation facilitates rapid response to any outbreak, informs understanding of global yellow fever risk and can support operational planning for vaccination activities. This course provides the learner with the fundamentals of the yellow fever surveillance principles and pathways to assure timely confirmation of yellow fever cases and outbreaks and to ensure that the appropriate actions are triggered.
Course Duration: 6 hours
Course Contents: The course presents the following modules:
Module 1: Yellow fever virus and disease, and the importance of comprehensive case-based yellow fever surveillance.
Module 2: Notifying and investigating yellow fever cases and outbreaks.
Module 3: Strengthening comprehensive field-level data collection and management to inform action.
Module 4: Diagnostic pathways for yellow fever samples.
Module 5: Role of entomological and non-human primate surveillance.
Certificates: A Certificate of Achievement will be available to participants who score at least 80% of the total points available in the final assessment. Participants who receive a Certificate of Achievement can also download an Open Badge for this course. Click here to learn how.
What you'll learn
- describe yellow fever an its key risks
- explain the rationale and approach for case-based yellow fever surveillance
- describe mechanisms to assure quality data collection, investigation and reporting of yellow fever suspected cases
- explain the importance of timely sample collection and the general diagnostic pathways for yellow fever laboratory confirmation
- summarize the roles of complementary surveillance techniques, such as entomological surveys and non-human primate surveillance, and describe the contexts in which these are recommended
- explain the approaches for monitoring and reporting on yellow fever surveillance structures.
Who this course is for
- The target audience of this course is field-level clinicians, surveillance and laboratory personnel and public health practitioners involved in yellow fever control.
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Certificate Requirements
- Gain a Record of Achievement by earning at least 80% of the maximum number of points from all graded assignments.
- Gain an Open Badge by completing the course.