On Jun. 19, 2015, the Immunization Practices Advisory Committee (ACIP) published recommendations for yellow fever booster doses.

Yellow fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease that is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America. Worldwide, yellow fever virus causes an estimated 200,000 cases of clinical disease and 30,000 deaths annually (4). Clinical disease ranges from a mild, nonspecific febrile illness to severe disease with jaundice and hemorrhage. The case-fatality ratio for severe yellow fever is 20%–50% (5). Because no specific treatment exists, prevention through vaccination is critical to reduce morbidity and mortality from yellow fever virus infection.

The risk of a traveler acquiring yellow fever varies based on season, location, activities, and duration of their travel. For a 2-week stay, the estimated risk for illness attributed to yellow fever for an unvaccinated traveler to West Africa is 50 cases per 100,000 population; for South America, the risk for illness is five cases per 100,000 population