Brunei is a low-risk stop. The rainforest asks for a little more care.
- No CDC travel notice for mosquito-borne disease
Dengue in Brunei runs at small numbers, and WHO certified the country malaria-free in 1987. A rare monkey malaria picked up in the forest, and sand flies on the Belait beaches, are the details to plan for on a Temburong or coast trip.
Are there mosquitoes in Brunei? Yes, but the diseases they carry stay at low levels. Dengue turns up in small numbers, there is no CDC travel notice, and WHO certified Brunei malaria-free in 1987. The one wrinkle is a monkey malaria that people occasionally pick up in the forest, which matters if your trip includes the Ulu Temburong rainforest.
Dengue stays small
CDC's Brunei page lists dengue, but Brunei isn't on CDC's global dengue list. The Ministry of Health's message for ASEAN Dengue Day in June 2026 put the past decade's average at roughly 50 cases a year, with about 100 in 2024. Next door, dengue in Malaysia's Sabah and Sarawak was up by about a third in 2026, Malaysia's national news agency, Bernama, reported. If you're combining Brunei with Malaysian Borneo, our Malaysia briefing covers it.
The Aedes mosquito that spreads dengue bites in daylight, with peaks after sunrise and in the late afternoon. Put repellent on over sunscreen in the morning and again before dusk, and sleep in an air-conditioned or screened room. Our dengue & Zika routine has the full schedule.
Temburong and monkey malaria
CDC lists no malaria medicine for Brunei, and its page doesn't mention Plasmodium knowlesi, a malaria parasite that normally lives in macaque monkeys. It still turns up, rarely and in the forest. A 2019 study in Safety and Health at Work counted 73 confirmed cases notified to the Ministry of Health from 2007 to 2017, many in border patrol officers, soldiers, forestry officers, boatmen and researchers, and its authors said the risk extends to visitors who go into the jungle. For a Temburong trip, that means long sleeves and trousers on forest walks and the canopy climb, repellent reapplied after river swims, and a net or screened room at night, since malaria mosquitoes bite from dusk to dawn. If you get a fever within weeks of coming home, tell the doctor about the jungle trip.
CDC recommends Japanese encephalitis vaccine for stays of a month or more and suggests considering it for shorter trips with rural areas, hiking, camping or nights without screens or nets, so raise a longer Temburong stay with a travel clinic 4–6 weeks before you fly. CDC also lists leptospirosis and melioidosis, picked up from fresh water, mud and soil after heavy rain, so cover cuts on river trips and stay out of floodwater. Brunei asks for yellow fever proof only from travelers 9 months or older arriving from a country with yellow fever risk, including layovers of more than 12 hours there.
Beach sand flies
On the Belait coast, Lumut beach can have sand flies, the tiny biting midges Americans call no-see-ums. They are weak fliers that bite ankles and lower legs at dawn and dusk and stay grounded in a breeze, so trousers and socks or repellent on the lower legs handle them. Our sand fly guide explains their schedule.
Where you're going
Bandar Seri Begawan
Low, sporadic dengue and no malaria. Repellent in the morning and before dusk covers the day-biting dengue mosquito on mosque and museum visits.
Kampong Ayer, the water village
The stilt village on the Brunei River shares the capital's low dengue picture. Bite levels here are little reported, so put repellent on before a late-afternoon water-taxi ride.
Ulu Temburong National Park
Primary rainforest reached by longboat. CDC lists no malaria medicine, but monkey malaria is picked up in Brunei's forests, so cover up on forest walks and sleep under a net or in a screened room.
Lumut & the Belait beaches
Sand flies can be the main nuisance here, biting legs and ankles. Trousers and socks, or repellent on the lower legs, handle them at dawn and dusk.
The Brunei kit
- Picaridin 20% travel sprays: odorless in the heat, layers over sunscreen and easy to aim at ankles on the beach. One 3.4 oz bottle lasts one person about a week.
- Permethrin 0.5% for forest clothes: treat a long-sleeved shirt and light trousers at home 48 hours before you fly, and the treatment lasts through several washes. Clothing only, never skin.
What travelers report
Paraphrased from a TripAdvisor forum thread and a review and linked so you can read them in full. Neither is dated, and conditions in the forest and on the beach change with the weather.
- Ulu Temburong National Park
Posters said the malaria map they had seen showed all of Brunei, Temburong included, as needing no protective measures, and one had not heard of a malaria case in recent memory. TripAdvisor ↗
- Lumut Beach, Belait
A visitor said sand flies were everywhere on the beach and bit legs and ankles, and advised covering up with trousers and socks. TripAdvisor ↗
As on any trip, a fever during or after it means a doctor visit, and you tell them you were in Brunei and whether you went into the rainforest.
Traveler questions
Is there malaria in Brunei?
WHO certified Brunei malaria-free in 1987, and CDC lists no malaria medicine for it. A monkey malaria, Plasmodium knowlesi, still infects a small number of people in the forest: 73 confirmed cases were notified from 2007 to 2017, many of them people who work there. For a Temburong trip, cover up on forest walks, sleep under a net or in a screened room, and tell a doctor about the jungle trip if you get a fever within weeks of coming home.
Is dengue a problem in Brunei?
Not much by regional standards. The Ministry of Health's June 2026 dengue-day message put the past decade's average at roughly 50 cases a year, with about 100 in 2024, and there is no CDC travel notice. The mosquito still bites by day, so wear repellent in the morning and late afternoon. Neighboring Sabah and Sarawak saw more dengue in 2026, so keep the habit if you cross into Malaysian Borneo.
Do I need any vaccines for Brunei?
CDC recommends Japanese encephalitis vaccine for stays of a month or more or frequent trips, and suggests considering it for shorter trips with rural areas, hiking, camping or nights without screens or nets. A longer Temburong stay is the kind of trip to raise at a travel clinic 4–6 weeks before departure. The yellow fever vaccine isn't recommended, and it isn't required when you fly from the US.
Sources
Health authorities, surveillance reports and news coverage of official bulletins used for this briefing, last checked October 2026. Traveler reports are linked where they appear. This page summarizes public-health guidance and is not medical advice.