Travel Vaccines and Advice for Panama

• Typhoid – Salmonella Typhi causes typhoid, a potentially life-threatening illness spread through contaminated food and water. Vaccination is a critical preventive measure, especially for travelers heading to endemic regions or individuals with an increased risk of exposure.
• Hepatitis A – The hepatitis A virus is highly contagious, primarily transmitted through contaminated food, water, or close contact. To prevent infection, practice good hygiene and get vaccinated.
• Yellow Fever – Yellow fever, a viral illness transmitted by infected mosquitoes, can be effectively prevented through vaccination. The yellow fever vaccine offers robust and long-lasting protection for individuals traveling to regions at risk.
• Chikungunya – Chikungunya, transmitted through mosquito bites, can be prevented by avoiding mosquito-infested areas and use of repellents. Vaccination is considered the best form of protection.
• Rabies – Rabies is a deadly viral disease affecting mammals, including humans, primarily transmitted through bites or scratches from infected animals. Vaccination is key to preventing rabies, with pre-exposure shots effectively preventing infection.
• Hepatitis B – Hepatitis B, a liver infection, is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids. Prevention includes practicing safe behaviors, but the cornerstone of protection is hepatitis B vaccination. This vaccine activates the immune system, generating antibodies that offer potent and enduring defense against the virus.
• Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) – Measles, mumps, and rubella are highly contagious diseases with potentially severe consequences. Preventing their transmission is possible through vaccination with the MMR vaccine. This two-dose vaccine not only safeguards individuals but also helps create herd immunity, reducing the risk of outbreaks within communities.

Yellow fever vaccination is primarily recommended for travel east of the Canal Zone. Areas west of the zone and urban regions have a low risk of yellow fever.

Malaria transmission is widespread in Panama except for in the Canal Zone, Panama City and Panama Oeste. Malaria in Panama is chloroquine resistant, be sure to speak with a travel health specialist on which antimalarial is best for your trip.

Panama’s mosquitoes, sand flies and other biting insects carry several diseases that have no vaccine, avoiding bites is your main defense.

Malaria is a bigger concern outside Panama’s cities. The CDC recommends antimalarial medication for travelers heading to Bocas del Toro, Chiriquí, Colón, Darién, Panamá, Panamá Oeste and Veraguas provinces, plus the indigenous provinces of Emberá, Kuna Yala and Ngäbe-Buglé. If your trip stays inside Panama City or the Canal Zone, malaria isn’t a transmission risk there, though the CDC still recommends bug bite precautions countrywide.

Cover exposed skin with long sleeves, pants and a hat, and use an insect repellent with at least 20% DEET or similar protective ingredient. Permethrin-treated clothing adds another layer of protection. Staying in screened or air-conditioned rooms helps keep bugs out at night. Check yourself for ticks after time outdoors.

Travelers’ diarrhea, hepatitis A and typhoid are the food- and water-related illnesses most likely to affect visitors to Panama. The CDC recommends vaccination against hepatitis A and typhoid before you go.

Stick to bottled or sealed water, and skip ice unless you know it was made from purified water. Contaminated water and soil are common sources of illness in Panama, especially after heavy rain. Avoid wading or swimming in floodwater and steer clear of mud in recently flooded areas. A portable water filter or purification tablets are useful backups if bottled water isn’t available.

Street food is popular throughout Panama, but it’s also one of the easiest ways to pick up a stomach bug. Choose food that’s fully cooked and served hot, and skip raw produce you can’t peel yourself.

Altitude sickness, or acute mountain sickness (AMS), results from oxygen deprivation at high altitudes, leading to symptoms like headaches and nausea. Prevent AMS by ascending slowly, staying hydrated, and considering medication. If symptoms worsen, descend immediately to lower altitudes and seek medical assistance.

• Chagas disease – Spread when the feces of an infected triatomine bug, sometimes called a “kissing bug,” gets rubbed into a bite wound, the eyes or the mouth. It can also spread through contaminated food or from a pregnant person to their baby. Sleeping in well-constructed, screened housing lowers your risk.
• Dengue – A mosquito-borne virus found throughout Panama, spread by daytime-biting mosquitoes common in both urban and rural areas. Most infections cause fever, rash and joint pain, though a small percentage progress to a more severe hemorrhagic form.
• Hantavirus – Contracted by breathing in dust contaminated with the urine, droppings or saliva of infected rodents, most often in rural buildings, sheds or storage areas. It can also spread through a rodent bite.
• Leishmaniasis – Spread by the bite of an infected sand fly, most active at dawn and dusk in Panama’s forested and rural areas. Infection can cause slow-healing skin sores or a more serious form affecting internal organs. Sand flies are smaller than mosquitoes and can pass through wide-mesh nets, fine-mesh netting offers better protection.
• Leptospirosis – Caused by bacteria in the urine of infected animals, picked up through contact with contaminated fresh water, mud or soil, especially after heavy rain. Travelers swimming, wading or hiking through flooded areas of Panama face the highest risk. Avoid floodwater and cover open cuts before outdoor activity.
• Melioidosis – A bacterial infection contracted through contact with contaminated soil or fresh water, or by breathing in contaminated dust, especially after heavy rain. Outdoor activities like hiking, farming or wading through mud carry the highest risk in Panama’s rural areas. Bandage any open cuts or wounds before spending time outdoors, and avoid contact with muddy or floodwater when possible.
• Tuberculosis (TB) – Spread through the air when someone with an active, contagious infection coughs, speaks or sings nearby. Prolonged close contact, such as extended stays in crowded housing or healthcare settings, raises the risk more than typical tourist activities. Avoiding close, extended contact with visibly sick people is the main precaution available to travelers.
• Zika – Spread through the bite of an infected mosquito, and a pregnant traveler can pass it to their unborn baby, where it may cause serious birth defects. There’s no vaccine or treatment, consistent bite prevention is the only real defense. Pregnant travelers or those planning pregnancy should talk with a doctor before their trip and take extra care with repellent.