Travel vaccinations for Pakistan

TravelHealthPro recommends hepatitis A, typhoid and a tetanus booster (the combined diphtheria, tetanus and polio vaccine) for most travellers to Pakistan, alongside routine UK vaccinations such as MMR. Hepatitis B, rabies, cholera, Japanese encephalitis and dengue depend on your length of stay, where you go and what you do; longer family visits, travel with children and rural stays usually mean more of them apply. Bring your itinerary and we will confirm what you need.

If you are staying four weeks or more, you may be asked on departure for proof of a polio vaccination given between four weeks and twelve months before you leave Pakistan, recorded on an International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis. Without it you can be given live oral polio vaccine at the airport, which pregnant women and anyone with a weakened immune system should not receive. We give the inactivated booster as the combined diphtheria, tetanus and polio vaccine and issue the certificate at the same appointment. Keep it with your passport; Saudi Arabia will also ask for it if you travel on for Umrah or Hajj.

Not usually. TravelHealthPro classes Pakistan below 2,000 metres as low risk and the northern mountains as very low risk, so awareness and strict bite avoidance are the main advice. Tablets may still be right for some travellers in the low-risk areas, such as long stays with family in rural Punjab or Sindh, pregnant women, young children and anyone with a weakened immune system or no spleen. Tell us who is travelling and for how long and we will advise.

Pakistan has had an outbreak of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid since 2016, and cases have been diagnosed in travellers returning to the UK. XDR typhoid resists most of the usual antibiotics, so treatment is limited and prevention matters more than usual. TravelHealthPro advises every traveller to Pakistan to be in date with the typhoid vaccine before they go, and it is particularly important for people visiting friends and relatives and for children. It is a single injection, ideally given at least two weeks before travel, with protection lasting around three years.

Ideally four to six weeks before you travel. Some courses, such as rabies and hepatitis B, are given over a few weeks, so the earlier you book the better. If your trip is sooner than that, come in anyway, as there is usually still something we can do to protect you.

It depends on where you are going, what you will be doing and how long you are staying. At your consultation we check your itinerary against the latest TravelHealthPro (NaTHNaC) recommendations and talk through exactly what is advised for your trip.

Some countries require proof of yellow fever vaccination before they will let you enter. We are a registered Yellow Fever centre, so we can arrange your vaccination and issue your certificate. We will confirm at your consultation whether your destination needs one.

Vaccines are priced per dose, and some need more than one dose for the full course, so we always show you the total before we start. You can see current prices on our travel vaccination price list. Some vaccines, such as hepatitis A and typhoid, may be free at your GP, though same-day appointments are available with no GP referral needed.

Malaria is prevented with antimalarial tablets, not a vaccine. Whether you need them depends on the region you are visiting and the time of year. We advise on this at your consultation and can prescribe the right tablets for your trip. You can read more on our malaria page.

No. A vaccine can be recommended to protect your health even where no certificate is needed for entry. Some countries do have certificate requirements linked to where you have travelled or transited, so check both the health advice and the entry rules before you depart. Your route and personal circumstances matter to both.

Share your full route, including stopovers and onward travel. Vaccination advice and malaria prevention can differ between countries, and between regions within a country, so we look at every stop when we plan with you.

Yes. Our country guides cover the destinations we are asked about most, but every consultation covers your exact itinerary. Contact the clinic with your destination, departure date and travel plans and we will discuss the next step.

Yes. Advice can change, and a new trip may involve different regions, activities or lengths of stay. Bring your previous vaccination records when you discuss the journey so we can see what is still covered.

Use the TravelHealthPro country information for current health guidance and GOV.UK foreign travel advice for entry rules and travel information. Check again closer to departure, and bring anything you are unsure about to your consultation.