Malaysia travel health
Required is not recommended: the first is what the border asks about, the second is what a clinic would suggest. Both, for Malaysia, then the number to dial and what care costs a visitor. Applies to every guide in Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur, George Town, Langkawi, Kota Kinabalu.
Required to enter
Nothing. No vaccination certificate is asked for at the border.
Recommended
- Hepatitis A
- Typhoid
- Tetanus up to date
- Rabies if you will be near animals or staying a while
- Japanese encephalitis for long rural or Borneo stays
Emergency number
999 for everything; 991 for an ambulance from a mobile
Care for visitors
Good and affordable
Kuala Lumpur and Penang have excellent private hospitals — Malaysia is a medical tourism destination in its own right, and standards and English are both high at a fraction of Western cost. Care thins out quickly in the interior of Borneo, where a serious case means a flight to the coast.
Dengue is endemic and Malaysia has large outbreaks; there is no prophylaxis, so repellent and covered arms at dusk are the whole defence. Rabies is present — any bite or scratch from a dog or monkey means a clinic the same day.
The general rules — clinic timing, water, mosquitoes, insurance — are in travel health tips.
The guides in Malaysia
Kuala LumpurMalaysiaTowers, mosques and temples in the same square mile, and the best eating in Southeast Asia
George TownMalaysiaShophouses, street art and the food capital of Malaysia
LangkawiMalaysiaA duty-free island of rainforest, mangroves and quiet sand
Kota KinabaluMalaysiaBorneo’s coast, with a mountain behind it and orangutans inland