There’s no obligatory vaccination schedule for visitors to Nepal. That means you won’t be required to show any medical paperwork on arrival. But because of poor hygiene, poverty and poor conditions in many areas of Nepal, travelers are encouraged by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to get a number of vaccines to prevent illness and disease, especially if traveling to rural areas.
Visit your doctor at least four weeks before your trip to discuss immunizations. If you aren’t current with your routine shots -- including the diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus and the measles/mumps/rubella vaccines -- your doctor might suggest a booster.
Get a shot against Japanese encephalitis. According to the Ciwec Clinic, a travel medicine center in Kathmandu, the vaccine is especially important during the monsoon season -- August to October -- when mosquitoes carrying the virus reproduce in larger quantities. Visitors to the Kathmandu valley and the Terai area are especially vulnerable to infection.
Get a rabies vaccine if you plan on spending a lot of time traveling around rural areas or visiting temples, where you might be in contact with dogs, monkeys or rodents.
Get a single shot of the typhoid vaccine if you haven’t had one in the past two years. The Ciwec Clinic highly recommends getting this shot, because typhoid fever is common in Nepal. Although not fatal, typhoid can make you bedridden for up to several weeks and might require hospitalization.
Talk to your doctor about getting shots for Hepatitis A and B if you haven’t had one in the past 10 years. The risk of Hepatitis A is especially high in poor rural areas with sanitation problems.
- There’s no effective vaccine against malaria or dengue fever, both of which are present in Nepal. Cities such as Kathmandu are malaria-free, but you might need malaria prophylaxis if you travel to other areas. Bring mosquito repellent that contains DEET to keep you safe.
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