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Cambodia

Southeast Asia · Asia · Physician brief

📝Draft — pending physician review
📝Draft — pending physician review. This brief was compiled from CDC, WHO, and EKRM/HealthyTravel sources (June 2026) and has not yet been verified by a clinician. Confirm specifics with a travel-medicine professional before relying on it.

Yellow fever entry certificate

Cambodia requires a yellow fever vaccination certificate from travelers (over 1 year of age) arriving from a country with risk of yellow fever transmission, or who transited more than 12 hours through the airport of such a country. There is no yellow fever in Cambodia itself. Direct travel from Switzerland is not affected.

WHO / EKRM ↗ · Updated 2026

Malaria

Low

Dengue

High

Yellow fever

None

Chikungunya

Moderate

Vaccines

VaccineRecommendationReference
Routine vaccines

Make sure you are up-to-date on all routine vaccines before every trip — per the Swiss BAG schedule. These include:

BAG Impfplan
Dengue

Qdenga® vaccination currently recommended only for travelers with documented prior dengue infection who will be exposed in a region with high dengue transmission.

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Hepatitis A

Recommended for all travelers to tropical and subtropical countries. Note for Swiss travelers: Hepatitis A is not part of the routine Swiss BAG childhood schedule, so most adult travelers will need vaccination.

CDC Yellow Book
Hepatitis B

Recommended for unvaccinated travelers. Routine in the Swiss childhood schedule since 1998 — younger travelers are usually already covered; older travelers should check their status.

CDC Yellow Book
Japanese encephalitis

Consider for travelers spending a month or more in rural areas, or shorter stays involving extensive rural/outdoor exposure. Not needed for a short Phnom Penh / Angkor itinerary.

—
Rabies

Particularly recommended for: long stays; high individual risk regardless of duration (cycling/motorbike trips, hiking in remote areas, infants and children, those working with animals, cavers — bats!). Rabid dogs are commonly found in Cambodia and reliable post-exposure care can be hard to access outside major cities.

CDC Yellow Book
Typhoid

Recommended for most travelers, particularly those visiting friends and relatives, smaller cities or rural areas, long-term travelers, or those with individual risk factors.

CDC Yellow Book

Disease-specific guidance

Malaria

Low

Risk is confined to rural and forested pockets, with falciparum malaria concentrated in forested border areas. There is no risk in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, or the Angkor Wat temple complex — the core tourist itinerary needs mosquito protection only. Chemoprophylaxis is recommended for travel into rural and forested areas; chloroquine and mefloquine resistance are documented.

Higher risk
Rural & forested areas, esp. border zones
No risk
Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Angkor Wat
Resistance
Chloroquine & mefloquine resistant
Prevention
Chemoprophylaxis for rural/forest travel; bite protection elsewhere
Malaria risk areas in Cambodia (CDC).

Yellow fever

None

No yellow fever risk in country. A YF certificate is required for travelers arriving from a YF-risk country (or transiting >12 hours through such an airport). See country alert for details. Direct travel from Switzerland is not affected.

Dengue

High

Endemic year-round throughout Cambodia, with peaks during the rainy season. Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, and other towns all have transmission. Daytime mosquito-bite prevention is the main protection.

Distribution
Nationwide, incl. Phnom Penh & Siem Reap
Season
Year-round; peaks in rainy season
Mosquito
Aedes — bites during daytime

Chikungunya

Moderate

Sporadic transmission with periodic outbreaks via the same daytime Aedes mosquito as dengue, so dengue bite-prevention measures also protect against chikungunya. Routine vaccination is generally not recommended; it may be considered in outbreak settings (see EKRM statement).

General prevention

Food & water

Use bottled or filtered water, avoid ice from unverified sources, and pay attention to food hygiene. Standard tropical precautions reduce the risk of traveler's diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid — especially relevant when eating at street stalls and in smaller towns and rural areas.

Mosquito protection

Dengue circulates year-round, including in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, so daytime mosquito protection (DEET or picaridin repellent, long sleeves) is essential. For trips into rural and forested areas, also protect at dawn and dusk against malaria and Japanese encephalitis.

Sources

Based on CDC Travelers’ Health, CDC Yellow Book, and the Swiss Federal Vaccination Schedule (BAG). Always verify current recommendations before travel.

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Plan an itinerary

This brief is for informational purposes and does not replace personalized medical advice.
Consult a travel medicine specialist 4–8 weeks before departure.