Malaria advice covers all of Nigeria. Settle the yellow fever card before you fly.

Are there mosquitoes in Nigeria? Yes, in every month, and the CDC recommends malaria prevention medicine for the whole country, Lagos, Abuja, Calabar, Port Harcourt and Ibadan included, plus yellow fever vaccine for travelers 9 months and older. Many Americans go to see family, often over the December holidays, and the advice for a relative's home is the same as for a hotel.

Malaria and yellow fever: the clinic visit

The CDC's wording is "CDC recommends that travelers going to Nigeria take prescription medicine to prevent malaria." Transmission occurs in all areas, mostly chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum, with no exception for cities, hotels or the dry season. The World Health Organization says Nigeria accounted for 31.9% of all malaria deaths in its African Region in 2024, the largest share of any country. Malaria mosquitoes bite from dusk to dawn, so put repellent on at sunset, wear long sleeves for evenings outdoors and sleep in a screened or air-conditioned room or under a net.

Yellow fever cases are sporadic, with 7 confirmed in 2025, all linked to forest exposure, WHO reported. The entry rule is where sources disagree. The CDC's page says "Direct travel from United States: Vaccine is not required," though the vaccine is required for travelers 9 months and older after transits or layovers in countries with yellow fever risk, with no minimum layover. The State Department's Nigeria page has described the certificate as required for travelers older than nine months. Confirm with your airline and the Nigerian embassy before you fly. Getting the vaccine the CDC recommends and carrying the yellow certificate covers both readings.

Daytime biters and the other notices

The CDC also lists dengue, chikungunya and Zika, all spread by Aedes mosquitoes that bite in daylight. Dengue counts are low, with 9 confirmed cases from January to June 2026 in Edo and Sokoto states, WHO's Africa office reported. For chikungunya, the CDC says "There is elevated chikungunya risk in Nigeria." Repellent over sunscreen in the morning covers the day shift, and our dengue & Zika routine has the schedule.

Nigeria's biggest 2026 outbreaks don't come from insects. Lassa fever spreads through food or surfaces contaminated with infected rats' urine or droppings, and WHO's Africa office counted 1,115 confirmed cases and 263 deaths by September 20, mostly in Ondo, Bauchi, Taraba, Edo and Benue states. Keep food sealed and away from rodents. CDC's Global Polio Level 2 notice lists Nigeria, and adults who had the childhood series may get a single lifetime polio booster. CDC's Level 1 diphtheria notice for sub-Saharan Africa lists Nigeria too and advises adults to have had a Td or Tdap booster in the last 10 years.

When to go

The dry season, roughly November to March, tends to bring fewer mosquitoes, especially in the dusty Harmattan months of December to February, and the peak rains, roughly June to September in the south, tend to be the worst. The malaria advice holds in every month.

Where you're going

Ibadan and the rest of the southwest fall under the same CDC malaria advice. Adding Accra? Ghana requires yellow fever proof from every arriving traveler 9 months and older, and our Ghana briefing has the details.

What travelers report

Paraphrased from a TripAdvisor forum thread about Lagos and linked so you can read it in full. It isn't dated and looks more than a decade old, so read it as background; the CDC advice above is current.

• Lagos

  A traveler asked whether her husband needed antimalarials for a two-week Lagos trip at short notice. Several replies recommended prophylaxis, one noting that Nigeria has falciparum malaria and suggesting Malarone for a short stay, while a five-year resident argued that a hotel such as the Sheraton plus covered wrists and ankles at dusk and dawn would be enough, though not in a village. The thread appears to be well over a decade old. CDC recommends malaria medicine for all of Nigeria. TripAdvisor ↗

One more rule outlasts the trip. Any fever during or after your trip means a doctor visit, and you tell them you were in Nigeria. That holds for a year after you get home.

Traveler questions