The diagnosis of yellow fever is not simple, since the clinical picture can present itself with a symptom difficult to distinguish from that of other viral haemorrhagic fevers, malaria, typhoid fever, leptospirosis, dengue and hepatitis.
Therefore, yellow fever should be suspected in patients in an endemic area who develop a sudden fever with bradycardia and jaundice. Laboratory tests carried out immediately in a qualified hospital will allow the diagnosis to be confirmed or excluded.
The investigations useful for this purpose include blood count, urinalysis, liver function tests, cell cultures and retro-transcription with polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Diagnostic confirmation is provided by the presence of specific antibodies detected by serological tests, such as ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay).
