Pakistan has been affected by severe flooding, with more than a third of the country under water after the heaviest monsoon rains in a decade.
Balochistan, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provinces have been worst affected, with flash floods and landslides occurring along the Indus and Kabul rivers. More than 1,000 people have died and millions of people have been made homeless.
Advice for Travellers
In addition to the risk of injury or death, the floods are expected to lead to serious health problems:
Mosquito-borne disease
- The risk of mosquito-borne disease is likely to increase. Malaria and dengue are already widespread in Pakistan and are likely to become more common.
- Rigorous mosquito bite avoidance is essential at all times.
- In addition to the usual high risk malarious parts of Pakistan, antimalarial chemoprophylaxis is currently recommended for those travelling to flooded areas of the country.
Food- and water-borne disease
- The risk of food and water-borne infection increases in flooded areas. Food and water precautions should be taken at all times.
- Potentially severe infections like typhoid, cholera and hepatitis A are likely to become more common and vaccination should be considered on risk assessment for those travelling to high-risk areas.
Other precautions
- All travellers to Pakistan should be up to date with UK schedule vaccines.
- Polio is present in Pakistan and all travellers should be offered a booster dose of polio vaccine if it has been more than 10 years since their last dose.
- Travellers staying in Pakistan for more than 4 weeks should be made aware of specific polio vaccination exit requirements.
See the TRAVAX Pakistan page for further information.
