Zambia Health & Vaccination Requirements
Malaria and Yellow Fever
Zambia: Health & Vaccinations
Chemists/pharmacies in the major centres carry a wide range of medicines and first aid supplies, and some in Lusaka remain open after hours on Sundays. Nevertheless, travellers should carry an adequate supply of their prescribed medicines with them, especially if they plan to stay in rural areas of Zambia, whose small clinics usually carry only basic medical supplies. Tap water in the major towns is purified and perfectly safe to drink, but in the more remote areas, the best precaution is to boil water before drinking.
Malaria Recommendations for Zambia
Malaria is virulent in the low lying areas of the country, which include most wildlife destinations. Doctors advise taking prophylactics two weeks before arrival and continuing two weeks after leaving. Your chemist/pharmacy or doctor can advise you of the most suitable drug available.
Yellow Fever Vaccination Requirements for Malaria
Zambia requires a valid yellow fever certificate from all foreign visitors and citizens over 1 year of age travelling from an infected area or having been in transit through infected areas (>12 hours). This rule applies to travellers from the following countries: Angola, Argentina, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, French Guyana, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principle, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Suriname, Togo, Trinidad, Uganda, and Venezuela.
Zambia health and vaccinations: common questions
Do I need a yellow fever certificate to enter Zambia?
Only if you are arriving from a country with risk of yellow fever transmission, from age one, including longer airport transits. Zambia is not on the World Health Organization’s risk list, so a Zambia safari does not itself create a certificate requirement onward or on return. Under the International Health Regulations the yellow fever certificate has been valid for life since 11 July 2016, and that applies retrospectively to certificates issued before then. No country may demand a booster as a condition of entry. The certificate becomes valid on the tenth day after vaccination. CDC’s mapping is broader than WHO’s, so a US-based clinic may advise differently — worth raising with them directly.
Is there malaria in Zambia?
Yes, throughout the country and all year. South Luangwa, the Lower Zambezi, Kafue, Liuwa Plain and the Livingstone and Victoria Falls area are all risk areas, and there is no malaria-free option in Zambia. Which prophylaxis suits you is a travel-clinic decision based on your health and medication; we do not administer or arrange it.
What is the sleeping sickness warning about?
CDC currently carries a travel notice for East African sleeping sickness covering Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is tsetse-borne, progresses quickly and needs treatment. The practical advice is specific and worth following in South Luangwa and the Lower Zambezi: wear medium-weight, neutral-coloured long sleeves and trousers, check vehicles for tsetse before getting in, and avoid resting in bushes. Insect repellents have not been shown to work against tsetse, which is why the clothing matters more than the spray.
What else should I know about health in Zambia?
Schistosomiasis is present in the Zambezi and Lake Kariba. Rabies is worth discussing for longer trips. A clinic will typically go through hepatitis A, typhoid, tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR currency, and may raise cholera depending on timing. Walking safaris put you on foot in big-game country, so the guide briefing matters — Zambia is where the walking safari was invented and the guiding standard is correspondingly high.
When should I sort this out?
Six to eight weeks before travel is the usual guidance. Once it is in hand, the question that shapes a Zambian trip is timing: the walking bushcamps in South Luangwa open around June, Busanga Plains in Kafue floods out and is only accessible for a few months a year, and September and October give the sharpest game concentration. Talk to us about dates and we will build the itinerary around what is actually open.