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Papua New Guinea

Melanesia · Oceania · 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.

High malaria risk — chemoprophylaxis generally recommended

Papua New Guinea has year-round, high-intensity malaria transmission (mostly chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum) throughout the country below 2000 m, including coastal and island areas popular with travelers. Malaria chemoprophylaxis (atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, or mefloquine) is generally recommended in addition to strict mosquito protection. Discuss the right regimen with your travel medicine specialist well before departure.

CDC Yellow Book 2024 / EKRM ↗ · Updated 2026

Yellow fever certificate if arriving from a risk country

There is no yellow fever in Papua New Guinea, but a valid YF vaccination certificate is required on entry for travelers aged 1 year and over arriving from — or having transited the airport of — a country with risk of yellow fever transmission. Direct travel from Switzerland is not affected.

WHO / PNG immigration guidance ↗ · Updated 2026

Limited healthcare and remote areas

Medical facilities outside Port Moresby are limited, and serious illness or injury may require evacuation. Comprehensive travel and repatriation insurance is strongly advised. Carrying a personal first-aid kit and discussing emergency standby malaria treatment with your travel clinic is sensible for remote itineraries.

EKRM / CDC ↗ · Updated 2026

Malaria

High

Dengue

Moderate

Yellow fever

None

Chikungunya

Low

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.

—
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 Papua New Guinea given high local prevalence and limited healthcare. Routine in the Swiss BAG childhood schedule since 1998, so younger travelers are usually already covered.

CDC Yellow Book
Japanese encephalitis

Present in Papua New Guinea. Recommended for travelers relocating or spending a month or more in endemic rural areas, and consider for shorter trips with substantial rural or outdoor exposure. Not needed for brief urban itineraries.

—
Rabies

Consider for long stays, remote and rural travel, cyclists and motorbike riders, those working with animals, and small children. Post-exposure care can be hard to obtain quickly in remote areas.

CDC Yellow Book
Typhoid

Recommended for travel to Papua New Guinea, particularly for rural travel, longer stays, visiting friends and relatives, or staying in poor hygienic conditions.

CDC Yellow Book

Disease-specific guidance

Malaria

High

High, year-round transmission throughout the country in areas below 2000 m, including coastal and island destinations. Most infections are chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum (about 75%), with P. vivax (about 25%) and rare P. malariae and P. ovale. Chemoprophylaxis is generally recommended alongside strict mosquito protection; only the highland areas above 2000 m are essentially risk-free.

Risk area
Countrywide below 2000 m, incl. coast & islands
No risk
Highlands above 2000 m
Species
P. falciparum (~75%), P. vivax (~25%)
Resistance
Chloroquine-resistant
Prevention
Chemoprophylaxis + mosquito protection
Malaria risk areas in Papua New Guinea (CDC).

Yellow fever

None

No yellow fever risk in country. A YF vaccination certificate is required on entry for travelers aged 1 year and over arriving from — or having transited the airport of — a country with risk of yellow fever transmission. Direct travel from Switzerland is not affected.

Dengue

Moderate

Endemic with year-round risk and periodic outbreaks, particularly in urban and lowland areas. Daytime mosquito-bite prevention is the main protection and also reduces Zika risk.

Distribution
Urban and lowland areas nationwide
Season
Year-round
Mosquito
Aedes aegypti — bites during daytime

General prevention

Food & water

Use bottled or filtered water, avoid ice from unverified sources, and pay close attention to food hygiene. Standard tropical precautions reduce risk of traveler's diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid. Outside Port Moresby and a handful of resorts, hygiene standards are variable, so these precautions matter throughout the trip.

Mosquito protection

Rigorous round-the-clock mosquito protection is essential. Daytime-biting Aedes mosquitoes transmit dengue and Zika, while night-biting Anopheles transmit malaria across most of the country below 2000 m. Use DEET or picaridin repellent, cover up at dawn and dusk, and sleep under an insecticide-treated bed net in rural and lowland areas. Japanese encephalitis is also present in rural areas.

Sources

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

Visiting more than one country?

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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.