Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam's dengue hotspot. The routine starts at breakfast.

Yes, and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is where Vietnam's dengue concentrates. The day-biting Aedes mosquito works the parks, cafés and alleys downtown, and the forested Cu Chi tunnels and the Can Gio mangroves add more. CDC lists no malaria for the city, so a Saigon stay comes down to a daytime repellent habit that starts at breakfast.

A dengue year running above 2025

The city's Center for Disease Control counted 24,651 dengue cases from January 1 to August 2, 2026, Vietnamese press reported. A week earlier the total stood 23.9% above the same point in 2025, and the center expected cases to stay high through the end of the year. No later count had been published by late October, so how big this year's peak was isn't known.

Nationally, the World Health Organization puts about 71% of Vietnam's 2026 cases in the south, in a year running about 37% above 2025, and Vietnam is on CDC's global dengue list. The rains run roughly May to November, the city's disease control center says dengue starts rising quickly from mid-June, and July to October tends to be the hardest stretch. December to April, the dry season, is easier, though dengue is reported in every month.

The Aedes mosquito bites in daylight, with peaks after sunrise and before sunset, around District 1's parks, cafés, alleys and rooftop bars. Put repellent on over sunscreen after breakfast, again after a sweaty afternoon or a swim, and again before the late-afternoon peak, and choose an air-conditioned or screened room. Our dengue & Zika routine has the full schedule.

Day trips: Cu Chi, Can Gio and the Mekong

The day trips bite more than downtown. The Cu Chi tunnels sit in forest in the city's rural northwest, and Can Gio's mangroves, on the coast to the southeast, tend to breed mosquitoes and biting midges. Put repellent on before you enter the forest or board the boat, and carry the bottle. A Mekong Delta day trip or homestay is covered in the Vietnam briefing. CDC recommends no malaria medicine there, only bite precautions.

Malaria, Zika and vaccines

CDC lists no malaria for Ho Chi Minh City. Its Vietnam page reports "None in the cities of Da Nang, Hai Phong, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Nha Trang, and Quy Nhon." Its malaria table still names Bình Dương as a separate province, and that province is now administratively part of the city.

Zika circulated here in 2016, when Vietnam's first two locally acquired cases were found in Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City, so pregnant travelers should talk to a healthcare provider before the trip. The city's health department said in August 2025 that it had recorded no chikungunya cases, and CDC says "Chikungunya vaccination is generally not recommended." CDC doesn't recommend the yellow fever vaccine, and Vietnam doesn't require it.

Where you're going

Heading north? See our Hoi An & Da Nang and Hanoi briefings.

What travelers report

Paraphrased from TripAdvisor reviews and a Q&A about the Cu Chi tunnels and linked so you can read them in full. None is dated, and conditions vary with the season and the weather.

• Cu Chi Tunnels

  A reviewer who found the tunnels awesome made bringing bug repellent the headline advice of the review. TripAdvisor ↗

• Cu Chi Tunnels

  In a Q&A about heat underground, an answer advised carrying some kind of insect repellent in case of mosquitoes and sand flies. TripAdvisor ↗

• Cu Chi Tunnels tour (Kim Travel)

  A tour reviewer noted that the guide brought mosquito repellent and offered it to anyone who had not brought their own. TripAdvisor ↗

Any fever during or within two weeks after your trip means a prompt doctor visit, and you tell them you were in Ho Chi Minh City. Already bitten and wondering how worried to be? Bitten in a dengue zone has the honest odds.

Traveler questions