WHO just marked ten years malaria-free - do we still need a Japanese encephalitis jab for 12 days in August

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Reka Farkas318 rep1

GP at home said "malaria tablets no, JE maybe if rural". We are doing Polonnaruwa, a safari, then A-Bay, 12 days. Not rice-field work. Clinic wants a course we do not have time to finish. Is this a real 2026 risk or a travel-clinic upsell.

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3 Answers from travellers

Accepted Answer

Malaria tablets are not indicated for Sri Lanka. JE is present, dusk-dawn rural mosquitoes, rice/pigs. A 12-day tourist loop is the "consider, not mandatory" zone on UK advice - especially if you cannot finish a two-dose course. Bite avoidance (repellent from late afternoon, screened rooms) is the thing you actually do. Dengue is the mosquito disease filling wards this month, and there is no routine tourist tablet for that.

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Thivakar Rasiah1680 rep1

We skipped JE, used DEET, fine. Not a study of one.

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Daphne Nikolou183 rep1

If you have weeks in dry-zone villages, talk to the clinic. Do not start a half-course at the airport.

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Isuranga Mendis980 rep1

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