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The jabs for Malaysia really depends on your proposed itinerary. It's a country of contrasts, varying from paddling a boat through ancient rainforests such as Taman Negra National Park to the vast metropolis of Kuala Lumpur, the capital city. Your childhood immunisations like MMR and tetanus provide the framework for your Malaysia vaccine requirements but other core vaccines include hepatitis A and typhoid. Just bear in mind that part of Borneo Island also belongs to Malaysia. Borneo has so much to offer, for example you might come up close to Orangutans or you might have the opportunity to climb Mount Kinabalu which can rise steeply to over 4,000 metres in altitude. You’re also probably more likely to visit rural areas or stay around rice paddy fields, as much of Borneo is not as urbanised as the Peninsula. For this kind of journey you will need to consider additional jabs for Malaysia, such as rabies and Japanese encephalitis. It's a good idea to get a careful, specialist travel risk assessment to precisely determine your Malaysia travel vaccine requirements, and that’s where we can help. As an initial guide we have created a useful vaccine summary table below.
What travel vaccinations do I need for Malaysia?
Dr Ravi Gowda, Consultant in Infectious Diseases or one of his highly trained clinical colleagues will be looking after your vaccine requirements. Find out more about the Health Klinix team.
Who will be providing your travel injections for Malaysia?
You should be aware of non-vaccine preventable risks in Malysia which are also preventable. Zika virus and chikungunya, are both viral infections spread by day-time biting mosquitoes. Dengue fever is also a mosquito borne viral infection, and up until recently, we didn't have a vaccine available. In the UK, there is now a new licensed vaccine called Qdenga which is being currently evaluated by our clinic.
So remember, you shouldn't just be asking ‘what jabs for Malaysia do I need?’, but more accurately ‘what kind of health risks should I know about before I travel?’
Dr Gowda's top tip for travel to Malaysia
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Frequently asked questions
There’s considerable variation in how long each vaccination for Malaysia lasts. A tetanus booster will last 10 years but a typhoid vaccination only lasts 3 years.
Ideally we’d like you to come and see us 4 - 6 weeks before your trip. This is to make sure that you get all the scheduled vaccinations before you leave. If you’ve booked something last minute, it’s still important that you have as many vaccinations as possible. We can guide you on this.
Most of the travel vaccinations for Malaysia are very well tolerated. Common side effects are a painful injection site, redness and occasionally swelling.
If you’re at risk of a vaccine preventable condition then we can usually recommend inactivated vaccines. However, we’ll make a careful risk assessment before offering any recommendations.
Absolutely. The only difference is that some vaccines will be lower doses while others like hepatitis A and typhoid will be limited by age.
Travel vaccines are even more important if you have underlying health problems but it’s also not safe for some vaccines to be administered for specific medical conditions, for example, if you have HIV. So do chat to us first.
You’re generally at low risk of malaria in both Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo Island and we would usually recommend bite avoidance rather than taking malaria tablets. However, in some circumstances you should take malaria tablets. Examples include prolonged stay in rural areas, the elderly, those with weakened immune systems or multiple medical problems.
Although you may not need malaria tablets in Malaysia, it’s still important to make sure that you’re aware of the risk of malaria, and that you’re avoiding mosquito bites by using insect repellent and sleeping under mosquito nets.
If you’re still not sure about malaria tablets for Malaysia please don't worry as we can offer expert guidance during your consultation. For specialist travel health advice call Health Klinix.
Recommended malaria tablets for Malaysia
Malaria risk map for Malaysia
travelhealthpro.org.uk and ACMP
Thankfully you are not at risk of yellow fever in Malaysia as transmission occurs in only two continents; ie Central and South America, and parts of Africa. Take a look at these yellow fever risk areas for more details.
Malaysian cuisine is paradise for the palate. The rich fusion of Malay, Indian and Chinese food reflects Malaysia’s predominant ethnic composition. It’s geographically splintered into the Malay peninsula in the West with Sabah and Sarawak capping the island of Borneo in the East. Borneo’s dense rainforests are home to the indigenous orang utan (‘man of the forest’). Contrast this with the searing mountainous peaks, such as Kota Kinabalu or the iconic Petronas twin towers of the metropolis, Kuala Lumpur, and you have the ideal adventure travel destination. Whatever you do, it’s important that you travel safely and we recommend you contact us for advice about your jabs for Malaysia.
All about Malaysia
Malaysia vaccine certificate requirements
For yellow fever vaccine certificate requirements for Malaysia click here
Authors:
Dr Ravi Gowda, Consultant in Infectious Diseases and Travel Medicine
MBBS, MRCP(UK), DTM&H, MRCGP, DCH, DRCOG, DFFP
Caitlin Lancaster, BSc
Resources: