Kazakhstan has no malaria or dengue. Summer's bugs are ticks on the trails and mosquitoes at the lakes.

Are there mosquitoes in Kazakhstan? Yes, mostly at lakes and reservoirs on summer evenings, but they don't carry the diseases that shape trips farther south. Kazakhstan is on WHO's list of malaria-free countries, and CDC lists no dengue or chikungunya there. For a June–September trip, the precautions that matter are tick checks on the foothill trails around Almaty and repellent for evenings at Burabay and the steppe lakes.

No malaria, no dengue

WHO lists Kazakhstan, since 2012, among the countries where malaria never existed or disappeared without specific measures. CDC's Kazakhstan page has no malaria section and recommends no malaria medicine. Kazakhstan isn't on CDC's global dengue list, and CDC's Zika page puts it among areas with no mosquitoes that spread Zika. One newcomer is worth knowing about. Aedes koreicus, an invasive mosquito, was recorded in Kazakhstan for the first time in Almaty, where it survived the 2018–19 winter, and researchers writing in Parasite in 2021 expect it to spread west and south. No local dengue has been found. CDC doesn't recommend the yellow fever vaccine, and Kazakhstan asks for proof only from travelers arriving from a country with yellow fever risk, including airport transits there.

Ticks on the foothill trails

The infections worth a precaution come from ticks. A 2022 study names Almaty and East Kazakhstan oblasts as endemic for tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), and the classic day trips from Almaty, to Big Almaty Lake, Medeu, Shymbulak and the Kolsai and Kaindy lakes, cross tick country in grass and forest. CDC says TBE vaccine "is recommended for persons who will have extensive exposure to ticks based on their planned outdoor activities and itinerary" and "may be considered for persons who might engage in outdoor activities in areas ticks are likely to be found." If you plan several days of hiking or camping, raise it with a travel clinic 4–6 weeks before departure.

On any trail, treat boots and clothing with permethrin before the trip, tuck trousers into socks, use a repellent with 20% or more DEET, as CDC suggests for ticks, and check your whole body after each walk. In the south, around Turkestan and Shymkent, CDC also lists Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, spread by tick bites and by contact with the body fluids of infected people or animals. A 2026 national analysis in Viruses found it peaks in June and July, with tick bites and livestock work the main risks, so avoid handling livestock there and remove any tick promptly. CDC also lists leishmaniasis, spread by sand flies that bite from dusk to dawn. See a doctor for any fever after a tick bite.

Lake evenings, and the season

Mosquitoes tend to gather at the steppe lakes and reservoirs in summer, and Burabay, Balkhash and Alakol have a reputation for evening biting, worst in July and August. Pack repellent for lakeside dinners and close windows at dusk. Mountain day trips from Almaty tend to be light on bites, and tour reviews for Kolsai, Kaindy and Charyn Canyon dwell on crowds and weather instead. Ticks become active in spring, and an early-June trip tends to catch the tail of that season on forest trails. By September the nights cool down and insects tend to thin out.

Continuing to Samarkand or Bukhara? Our Uzbekistan briefing covers the sand flies there.

Where you're going

As on any trip, a fever during or after it means a doctor visit, and you tell them where you were and whether a tick bit you.

Traveler questions