Dengue is a year-round risk across the whole island, carried by daytime mosquitoes, so use high-DEET repellent. Tap water is not drinkable, including for brushing teeth. Use private hospitals with English-speaking staff - Nawaloka, Lanka Hospitals, Asiri - and expect to need a guarantee letter or cash before treatment.
- Dengue is a high risk year-round across the whole island, carried by mosquitoes active mainly in daylight - so use a high-DEET repellent by day.
- Tap water is not drinkable, including for brushing teeth and washing food. Use sealed bottled or boiled water.
- Go to private hospitals with English-speaking staff - Nawaloka, Lanka Hospitals or Asiri in the big cities.
- Private hospitals will not treat you without a guarantee letter from your insurer or immediate cash payment.
- Malaria risk is currently minimal, and hepatitis A and B and typhoid are the standard vaccinations.
Health, insurance and where to be treated
- Recommended vaccinations: Standard protection means vaccination against hepatitis A and B and typhoid.
- Dengue fever: A high risk of dengue infection is present year-round across the whole country. It is carried by Aedes mosquitoes, active mainly in daylight in urbanized areas. Prevention means repellents with a high DEET content and sleeping under a mosquito net. Malaria risk is currently minimal.
- Tap water: Water from the public supply is not drinkable. Use only bottled water with an intact seal, or boiled water, for drinking, brushing teeth and washing food.
- Medical facilities for foreigners: For medical care, go exclusively to private clinics in the big cities with English-speaking staff:
- Nawaloka Hospital (Colombo)
- Lanka Hospitals (Colombo)
- Asiri Hospital (branches in Colombo and Kandy)
- For urgent surgery and trauma, the state National Hospital of Sri Lanka in Colombo is the place to go. Travel insurance with sufficient medical coverage is a hard requirement - private hospitals will not treat you without a guarantee letter from your insurer or immediate cash payment.
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