Pakistan

Polio — booster recommended; exit requirement applies

Pakistan is one of only two countries with endemic wild poliovirus (WPV1) transmission. Travelers should be fully immunized per the Swiss BAG schedule; adults who completed their childhood series should receive a one-time IPV booster before travel. Pakistan also imposes an EXIT requirement: travelers leaving the country after a stay of four weeks or more must show proof of polio vaccination received between 4 weeks and 12 months before departure, documented in an International Certificate of Vaccination (ICVP). Plan timing with your travel medicine specialist.

WHO Polio IHR Emergency Committee / CDC ↗ · Updated 2026

Yellow fever — certificate only if arriving from a risk country

There is no yellow fever risk in Pakistan. A YF vaccination certificate is required only for travelers aged 1 year and older arriving from a country with risk of YF transmission. Direct travel from Switzerland is not affected.

CDC / WHO ↗ · Updated 2026

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

• Chickenpox (Varicella)
• Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (DTaP, Tdap)
• Influenza (flu)
• Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR)
• Polio
• COVID-19

May be considered for aid/relief workers or travelers heading to areas of active transmission under poor sanitary conditions. Not needed for typical travel.

Recommended for all travelers from one year of age. Note for Swiss travelers: Hepatitis A is not part of the routine Swiss BAG childhood schedule, so most adult travelers will need vaccination.

Consider per individual risk and stay duration. Routine in the Swiss childhood schedule since 1998 — younger travelers are usually covered.

Consider for travelers spending extended time (typically a month or more, or shorter with high-risk rural exposure) in rural rice-growing and irrigated areas during transmission season. Not needed for short urban itineraries.

Pakistan has endemic wild poliovirus. Adults who completed their childhood polio series should receive a one-time IPV booster. Note the exit requirement for stays of four weeks or more (see alert). Document in an ICVP.

Particularly recommended for long stays, travel to rural areas with limited access to post-exposure care, cyclists/motorbike trips, infants and children, and those working with animals. Stray dogs are a common rabies vector.

Recommended for most travelers, and particularly for those visiting friends and relatives, staying in rural areas, or for longer stays. An extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid strain is circulating — vaccination and strict food/water hygiene both matter.