South Asia
Sri Lanka travel vaccinations
Sri Lanka is a trip where the list depends on the trip. A fortnight in a beach hotel, a month in the hill country and a stay with family in a village are three different sets of recommendations, which is what the chooser below is for. One thing you can rule out straight away: the guidance lists no malaria risk anywhere on the island, so antimalarial tablets aren't recommended.
- Consultation with a pharmacist
- GPhC premises 9011598
- Ewell, Epsom
Recommendations depend on your itinerary, health history and current guidance.
What the guidance says
Vaccines for Sri Lanka
Which of these apply to you depends on how you're travelling. Hepatitis A, typhoid, rabies and the rest move in and out of the list according to where you're staying, how long for, and whether you're eating and living with a local family. Dengue is the other half of the picture: more than 92,000 cases and 68 deaths were reported in 2026 by mid-August, and there's no useful vaccine for most travellers, so daytime bite avoidance does the work.
11 vaccines the guidance mentions for Sri Lanka, 9 of them given here. Which apply to you is settled at your consultation.
Recommended for most travellers
If it was more than ten years ago and you'll be anywhere medical care is limited, a booster is recommended. This is the only vaccine the guidance puts in this group for Sri Lanka.
- Timing
- One injection, effective quickly in anyone previously vaccinated.
- Protection
- The full UK course is five doses, which gives most people lifelong protection. Travel boosters top up tetanus, diphtheria and polio for around ten years.
For some travellers, depending on the trip
Vaccination may be considered from age 12 for people travelling to an outbreak area, or travelling there often or long-term. Daytime bite avoidance is the main protection.
- Timing
- IXCHIQ must be given at least 30 days before travel. Vimkunya has no fixed minimum, but earlier is better.
- Protection
- Both vaccines are a single dose. Most people make protective antibodies within about three weeks, and the immune response starts to build within a week. The need for a booster hasn't been established.
The oral vaccine is aimed at aid workers and anyone heading to an outbreak area with limited access to clean water and medical care.
- Timing
- Course should be completed at least a week before travel.
- Protection
- Risk for most travellers is low; the vaccine is aimed at specific groups.
Sri Lanka reported more than 92,000 cases and 68 deaths in 2026 by mid-August. The mosquitoes bite in the daytime, mainly in towns and cities. Vaccination is only considered in specific cases, usually people who've had dengue before, so daytime bite avoidance does most of the work.
Not given at Miles Pharmacy; referred on after assessment.
- Timing
- Two doses three months apart, so it needs planning well ahead.
- Protection
- Considered mainly for people who've had dengue before.
It's recommended if you're staying with local families, travelling long-term or often, backpacking in rural areas or in basic accommodation, or if you have a liver condition. It spreads through contaminated food and water.
- Timing
- No minimum notice. Protection develops within about two weeks, and a dose on the day you fly is still worth having.
- Protection
- One dose protects for up to 12 months. A second dose at 6 to 12 months takes that to about 25 years, with a booster at 25 years for anyone still at risk.
- Timing
- The very rapid schedule gives protection within about three weeks for adults. Other schedules take one to two months to protect.
- Protection
- Around 90% of adults respond. After a complete course, healthy people don't need a booster: protection against chronic infection lasts 20 to 30 years or more.
It's considered for stays of a month or more in the transmission season, frequent trips, uncertain plans, or shorter trips with rural exposure such as rice fields and pig farms.
- Timing
- The course must finish at least a week before possible exposure: about five weeks on the standard schedule, two weeks on the accelerated one.
- Protection
- Protection begins 7 days after the second dose. One dose is not enough. First booster at 12 to 24 months for ongoing risk, or at 12 months for people living in a risk area.
Make sure you've had two doses of MMR. Babies from six months old who'll be mixing with local people can have an early dose.
- Timing
- Two doses at least a month apart; the second can be brought forward for travel.
- Protection
- Two doses give long-lasting protection. A dose given before 12 months doesn't count towards the two.
Vaccination before travel is recommended for stays over a month, cycling or running, work with animals, and anywhere treatment would be hard to reach. It doesn't replace urgent care after a bite, but it simplifies that treatment and removes the need for immunoglobulin, which is scarce. Children are at higher risk, and street dogs and temple monkeys are both worth giving a wide berth.
- Timing
- Standard course 21 to 28 days; accelerated course 7 days.
- Protection
- A full course primes your immune system, so if you are bitten you need fewer doses of treatment and usually no immunoglobulin. It never removes the need for urgent treatment after a bite.
Not given at Miles Pharmacy; referred on after assessment.
- Timing
- A tuberculin skin test is needed first from 6 years of age.
- Protection
- Given once; no boosters.
Consider it if you're staying with friends or family, going for a long time, or travelling often somewhere sanitation and food hygiene can be poor. The vaccine doesn't protect against paratyphoid, so take care with what you eat and drink either way.
- Timing
- At least 2 weeks before travel. A dose closer to departure can still be considered, and we'll explain the limits.
- Protection
- Protection lasts about three years. It isn't fully protective, and it doesn't cover paratyphoid, so food and water care still matters.
the guidance mentions that are not usually part of a trip like this.
A starting point, not a quote. Course prices assume every dose is given here, and some courses need more than one visit, so the timings matter as much as the totals.
Malaria and certificates
Where the risk actually is
There's no malaria risk anywhere in Sri Lanka, so nobody needs tablets. That doesn't mean you can ignore mosquitoes. Dengue and chikungunya are both present and both are spread by daytime biters, so repellent, covered skin and screened or air-conditioned rooms still matter, in towns as much as the countryside.
Yellow fever certificate. You won't need a yellow fever certificate flying from the UK. Sri Lanka requires one from travellers over 9 months old arriving from a country with yellow fever risk, or who've spent more than 12 hours in transit at an airport in one. Miles Pharmacy is a registered Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre. The certificate becomes valid 10 days after vaccination and lasts for life. About the yellow fever vaccine
- No malaria risk the whole country
Worth knowing
Beyond the vaccines
Not everything worth knowing has a vaccine. These are the rest: what the guidance says to prepare for, and the notices it has issued in the last three months.
- Dengue and bites
- With dengue at the levels reported this year, bite avoidance is the single most useful thing you can do. Use DEET during the day, cover up around dawn and dusk, and see a doctor promptly if you get a fever, as dengue and other tropical infections can look alike early on.
- Altitude
- The hill country tops 2,500 metres at Pidurutalagala. Most itineraries around Nuwara Eliya and Ella sit well below that, so altitude illness is unlikely, but it's worth knowing the symptoms if you're climbing.
- Animals
- Street dogs and monkeys around temples and viewpoints are a real source of bites and scratches. Keep your distance, particularly with children, and treat any bite, scratch or lick as urgent.
- Food and water
- Stick to bottled or treated water, avoid ice from unknown sources, and choose food that's freshly cooked and served hot. That covers most of the hepatitis A and typhoid risk before any vaccine does.
- Zika
- Zika is present in Sri Lanka. If you're pregnant or planning a pregnancy, talk to us before you travel, as there's specific guidance on avoiding conception after your trip.
- Sexual health
- Condoms are the most effective protection against sexually transmitted infections, and hepatitis B vaccination is worth discussing if there's any chance of new partners.
Before you book
Questions about Sri Lanka
Answered by the pharmacist who signs this page off.
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The only one recommended for most travellers is an in-date tetanus, diphtheria and polio booster. Hepatitis A and typhoid are recommended for people staying with local families, travelling long-term or often, or backpacking in basic accommodation, which covers a lot of trips. Rabies, hepatitis B and Japanese encephalitis depend on your plans.
Samit Patel Superintendent Pharmacist Reviewed 2026-09-17 -
No. There's no malaria risk anywhere in Sri Lanka. Bite avoidance still matters because of dengue and chikungunya, which are spread by mosquitoes that bite in the daytime.
Samit Patel Superintendent Pharmacist Reviewed 2026-09-17 -
Sri Lanka reported more than 92,000 cases and 68 deaths in 2026 up to mid-August. Most travellers who catch it recover, but it's unpleasant and can occasionally be serious. There's no vaccine suitable for most travellers, so repellent during the day, covered skin and screened or air-conditioned rooms are the protection. See a doctor quickly if you develop a fever.
Samit Patel Superintendent Pharmacist Reviewed 2026-09-17 -
It's recommended for stays over a month, cycling or running, work with animals, or anywhere treatment would be hard to reach. Street dogs and temple monkeys make bites more likely than people expect, and children are at higher risk. The course is three doses over 28 days. Whether you're vaccinated or not, any bite, scratch or lick needs the wound washed and urgent local medical care.
Samit Patel Superintendent Pharmacist Reviewed 2026-09-17 -
Not if you're flying from the UK. You will if you're over 9 months old and arriving from a country with yellow fever risk, or you've spent more than 12 hours in transit at an airport in one.
Samit Patel Superintendent Pharmacist Reviewed 2026-09-17 -
A beach holiday may need nothing more than a tetanus booster at £45. A touring trip with hepatitis A and typhoid starts at £254. We'll confirm what's recommended for your itinerary before you pay for anything.
Samit Patel Superintendent Pharmacist Reviewed 2026-09-17
NaTHNaC Registered Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre
A Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre on the NaTHNaC register, and the same travel clinic that gives your other vaccinations.
GPhC registered premises
9011598
Private and NHS pharmacy services from one registered pharmacy in Ewell, Epsom.
Find the pharmacy
Where to come, and when
Ewell, Epsom, Surrey KT19 9UR
How to get here Parking, trains, buses and step-free access
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The door is on Chessington Road, with step-free access
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The station car park, on Station Approach off Chessington Road
- Address Elizabeth Court, Station Approach, KT17 1DR
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Step-free to all platforms, by a footbridge with lifts
- Step-free to every platform (National Rail step-free category A)
- Lifts two, on the footbridge
Checked against nationalrail.co.uk
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Outside the pharmacy, with a stop on each side of Chessington Road
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Cycle parking at the station
Take this with you
Point your phone's camera at the code and this page opens there, with the directions one tap away.
Checked against NaTHNaC TravelHealthPro on . Entry requirements change: check TravelHealthPro and FCDO before you travel.
Travel health
Book before you pack.
Questions first? Call us on 020 8393 1000
- Private and NHS
- GPhC premises 9011598
- Open until 6:30pm
Prefer to talk? 020 8393 1000