Most Australians who travel to Pakistan are going home: visiting parents and extended family in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad or the Punjab, often for weeks at a time, staying in family houses and eating what everyone else eats. A smaller group goes for the mountains, the Karakoram Highway, Hunza and the trekking in Gilgit-Baltistan. Both groups face some of the highest travel health risks of any destination Australians commonly visit, and the family-visit group is the one least likely to see a travel doctor before they go.
This guide covers the vaccinations and precautions Australians should consider for Pakistan. It is general information only. Your personal plan depends on where you are going, how long for, and your health history.
Do you need vaccinations to travel to Pakistan?
No vaccinations are required to enter Pakistan for Australians arriving from Australia. A yellow fever certificate is required only if you are arriving from a country with yellow fever transmission. Yellow fever is not present in Pakistan. Separately, Pakistan is one of the last countries with ongoing wild polio transmission, and travellers staying for more than four weeks may be asked for proof of polio vaccination when they leave. A polio booster is recommended for all travellers in any case.
Recommended vaccinations for Pakistan
For almost every traveller
- Typhoid. Pakistan has one of the highest typhoid rates in the world, and since 2016 Sindh province, including Karachi, has had an outbreak of extensively drug-resistant typhoid that does not respond to the usual antibiotics. That makes the vaccine more important here than almost anywhere else. Recommended for essentially all travellers, including short family visits.
- Hepatitis A. Spread through contaminated food and water. Recommended for essentially all travellers.
- Polio. A booster dose is recommended for adult travellers who have not had one in the last ten years. Children should be fully up to date.
- Routine vaccines. Tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough, MMR (measles) and seasonal influenza should all be up to date. Measles circulates widely in Pakistan.
Depending on your trip
- Rabies. Pakistan has a serious rabies problem, with many stray dogs in cities and limited access to reliable post-bite treatment. Worth serious discussion for longer stays, anyone travelling with children, and anyone heading to rural areas.
- Hepatitis B. Recommended for longer stays and anyone who may need medical or dental treatment in Pakistan.
- Japanese encephalitis. Present in parts of Pakistan. Considered for longer or rural stays, particularly in rice-growing areas of Sindh and Punjab.
- Cholera and chikungunya. Both occur in Pakistan. Vaccines exist and may be considered for some travellers, particularly during outbreaks or for longer rural stays.
- Dengue. Pakistan has large seasonal dengue outbreaks, particularly in Punjab and Sindh after the monsoon. A dengue vaccine (Qdenga) is now available at our Bulimba clinic (see our guide to the dengue vaccine). Whether it suits you depends on your age, your trip and whether you have had dengue before.
Malaria: most travellers need tablets
Malaria prevention is generally recommended for most travellers to nearly all of Pakistan, including the major cities and the Punjab. The only exceptions are the rarely visited high-altitude areas above about 2,500 metres in the far north. Family visitors staying in the Punjab for a month during or after the monsoon are at real risk, and this is one of the commonest gaps we see. There are several tablet options with different dosing and side-effect profiles, and some suit children better than others. If you are visiting family with kids, this conversation is worth having.
Visiting family: why the usual rules still apply
Growing up in Pakistan, or having parents who did, does not give you lasting protection against typhoid, hepatitis A or malaria. Immunity fades after years in Australia, and children born here have none. Family visitors typically stay longer, eat home-cooked and street food, drink local water and get bitten more than tourists do. Every one of those things raises the risk. The vaccines and tablets above are for you, not for the resort traveller.
The mountains: altitude and remoteness
Hunza, Skardu, the Karakoram Highway and the trekking routes towards K2 and Nanga Parbat climb high enough for altitude sickness, which can become serious. There is no vaccine. The defence is a sensible ascent plan, and your travel doctor can discuss acetazolamide for prevention. Medical care in Gilgit-Baltistan is very limited and evacuation is slow, so travel insurance with full medical evacuation cover and a well-stocked first-aid kit are essential.
Food, water and mosquitoes
Travellers' diarrhoea is a high risk throughout Pakistan, including in good accommodation and family homes. Drink only sealed bottled, boiled or properly filtered water, be careful with ice, raw salads and unpeeled fruit, and carry a treatment kit your travel doctor can prescribe. Mosquito bite prevention matters day and night: malaria mosquitoes bite from dusk, dengue mosquitoes during the day. Use repellent with DEET or picaridin, wear long sleeves, and sleep under a net or in a screened, air-conditioned room.
When to see a travel doctor
Book your pre-travel consultation 6 to 8 weeks before you fly so multi-dose vaccines such as rabies and hepatitis B have time to work. Even last-minute travellers benefit. Typhoid, hepatitis A and malaria tablets can all be sorted close to departure.
At Travel Doctors Brisbane in Bulimba, we tailor recommendations to your exact trip, whether that is a month with family in Lahore or a trek in the Karakoram, and we prescribe malaria prevention and issue Yellow Fever certificates where required. See our Pakistan destination health advice, browse our travel health services, and book your consultation.
This article is general information only and was reviewed against our subscription travel health database in October 2026. It does not replace personalised medical advice. Vaccination needs and disease risks change and depend on your itinerary, season, length of stay and health history. Always confirm with a travel health professional and Smartraveller before you travel.