Mosquitoes in Senegal: Malaria, Yellow Fever & the Dry Season (2026)

December to April brings the fewest mosquitoes, and the 2025 rainy-season outbreaks of dengue and Rift Valley fever had wound down by January 2026. The CDC still recommends malaria prevention medicine for all of Senegal, Dakar included, and yellow fever vaccine for travelers 9 months and older.

Are there mosquitoes in Senegal? Yes, in every month, and the CDC recommends malaria prevention medicine for the whole country, Dakar included, plus yellow fever vaccine for travelers 9 months and older. December to April is the dry season, when mosquitoes are fewest, and 2025's big rainy-season outbreaks of dengue and Rift Valley fever had wound down by January 2026.

Disease risk ElevatedCDC recommends malaria medicine for all of Senegal and yellow fever vaccine for travelers 9 months and older; the 2025 dengue and Rift Valley fever outbreaks had wound down by January 2026.

Bite nuisance NoticeableFewer mosquitoes in the dry season, though Dakar evenings and the Sine-Saloum's mangrove lodges tend to draw complaints.

CirculatingMalaria (all areas)Dengue (endemic)Rift Valley fever (CDC-listed)No yellow fever card needed from the USNo chikungunya vaccine advised2025 outbreaks wound down

CDC noticesNo country-specific notice for mosquito-borne disease

Travel clinicCDC recommends malaria medicine for all areas of Senegal and yellow fever vaccine for all travelers 9 months or older. Senegal requires the certificate only from travelers 9 months or older arriving from a country with yellow fever risk, including layovers of more than 12 hours there. CDC also recommends meningococcal vaccine for meningitis-belt areas in the dry season, roughly December to June. See a travel clinic 4–6 weeks before you fly.

Dec–Apr tripsDecember–April is the dry season, with the fewest mosquitoes and less malaria transmission. Early December can still catch the tail of the rains, and the CDC's malaria advice applies in every month.

Data checkedOctober 2026 · sources

Malaria and yellow fever: the clinic list

The CDC's wording is "CDC recommends that travelers going to Senegal take prescription medicine to prevent malaria." Transmission occurs in all areas, mostly Plasmodium falciparum, with no exception for Dakar or the dry season. Malaria mosquitoes bite from dusk to dawn, so put repellent on at sunset, wear long sleeves and pants for dinner and sleep behind screens or under a net.

For yellow fever, the CDC's recommendation is "Vaccine is recommended for all travelers ≥9 months old." Senegal's entry rule is narrower. For direct travel from the United States, "Vaccine is not required." From countries with yellow fever risk, "Vaccine is required for travelers ≥9 months old; this includes >12-hour airport transits or layovers in countries with risk for YF virus transmission."

What we suggest you do with this: the CDC recommends malaria medicine for all areas of Senegal and yellow fever vaccine for all travelers 9 months or older, so book a travel-medicine appointment 4–6 weeks before departure with your full route and dates. Also ask your travel clinic about meningococcal vaccine, which CDC recommends "for travelers 2 months old or older traveling to areas of Senegal that are part of the meningitis belt during the dry season (roughly December to June)." CDC's Level 1 diphtheria notice for sub-Saharan Africa also lists Senegal and advises adults to have had a Td or Tdap booster in the last 10 years. Our malaria-zone checklist covers everything around the prescription.

After the 2025 outbreaks

WHO's Africa office counted 6,668 laboratory-confirmed dengue cases and 3 deaths in Senegal in 2025, heaviest in Kaolack, Fatick, Saint-Louis and Dakar. In the first week of January 2026 it reported just three, and Africa CDC counted 73 for 2026 through August 30, ECDC reported.

Rift Valley fever hit Saint-Louis Region hardest, with 373 of the 561 confirmed human cases WHO's Africa office counted from September 20, 2025 to January 4, 2026, along with 31 deaths nationwide. In January it said the outbreak appeared to be under control, and its October 5–11, 2026 bulletin lists neither outbreak. Most human infections come from the blood or organs of infected animals, some from mosquito bites, so avoid livestock blood and raw milk around the Senegal River valley.

Dry-season bites, from Dakar to the Sine-Saloum

Mosquitoes and malaria transmission drop in the December–April dry season. Dakar evenings tend to bring a few all year, and mangrove lodges in the Sine-Saloum Delta have a reputation for gaps in screens and nets. Early December can still catch the tail of the rains, which run roughly June or July to October or November. The CDC also lists sand-fly leishmaniasis, and sand flies bite in the same dusk-to-dawn hours. Dengue's Aedes bite by day, so add a morning coat in Dakar and on Gorée; our dengue & Zika routine has the schedule.

Where you're going

city

Dakar & Gorée Island

Disease risk ElevatedBite nuisance Noticeable

Inside the CDC's malaria advice with no city exception, and Dakar was one of the four regions with the most dengue in 2025. Mosquitoes tend to be around on Dakar evenings all year, so repellent goes on before dinner outdoors.

resort

Saly & the Petite Côte

Disease risk ElevatedBite nuisance Occasional

A breezy resort coast that tends to draw fewer bite complaints than the delta in the dry season. It is still inside the CDC's malaria advice, so keep the sunset routine.

city

Saint-Louis

Disease risk ElevatedBite nuisance Noticeable

Saint-Louis Region was the center of the 2025 Rift Valley fever outbreak, with 373 of 561 confirmed cases, and among the top dengue regions. Both had wound down by January 2026. River and lagoon areas such as the Langue de Barbarie and Djoudj tend to be buggier at dusk.

countryside

Sine-Saloum Delta: Palmarin & Toubakouta

Disease risk ElevatedBite nuisance Annoying

Mangrove and lagoon lodges here tend to draw complaints about mosquitoes in rooms and gaps in screens or nets. Check your room on arrival and bring a net if you're unsure.

Cap Skirring, in Casamance, is inside the same malaria advice. Flying on to Cape Verde? The CDC recommends no malaria medicine there, but the islands require yellow fever proof from travelers 1 year or older arriving from a country with yellow fever risk. Adding Ghana? It requires yellow fever proof from every arriving traveler 9 months and older. Our Cape Verde and Ghana briefings have the details.

The Senegal kit

Evening spray, treated dinner clothes and a net for the delta lodges.

Picaridin 20% travel sprays: odorless in the heat and quick to reapply at sunset. One 3.4 oz bottle lasts one person about a week.
Permethrin 0.5% for evening clothes: treat a long-sleeved shirt and light trousers at home 48 hours before you fly. It lasts several washes and goes on clothing, never skin.
A travel bed net for Sine-Saloum lodges, where screens can have gaps.

Carry-on trio → Permethrin → Full rankings

What travelers report

Paraphrased from a TripAdvisor forum thread about Dakar and linked so you can read it in full. It isn't dated, and the replies disagree with one another.

Dakar · November-December
Replies to a traveler asking about malaria in Dakar in November disagreed: one said November and December are dry so the mosquito risk is very low, another said Senegal is considered a high-malaria area year-round and to see a doctor, and a long-term resident said they had caught malaria in Dakar in December. 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 Senegal. Malaria can show up weeks later.

Traveler questions

Do I need malaria pills for Dakar in the dry season?

The CDC recommends malaria prevention medicine for all of Senegal and makes no exception for Dakar or for the December–April dry season. Mosquitoes are fewer then, though some remain. Which medicine fits you is a call for a travel clinic, made with your full route 4–6 weeks before departure. Our malaria-zone checklist covers the rest of the preparation.

Do I need a yellow fever vaccine for Senegal?

The CDC's recommendation is "Vaccine is recommended for all travelers ≥9 months old." Senegal's entry rule is separate. For direct travel from the United States, "Vaccine is not required." From countries with yellow fever risk, "Vaccine is required for travelers ≥9 months old; this includes >12-hour airport transits or layovers in countries with risk for YF virus transmission." Book the clinic visit 4–6 weeks out and bring your connections.

Is the Rift Valley fever outbreak over?

It had wound down by January 2026. WHO's Africa office said the outbreak appeared to be under control, with no new human cases in the two weeks to January 4, 2026, and the most recent confirmed case fell ill on December 14, 2025, in Podor district in Saint-Louis Region. Its October 2026 bulletin no longer lists it. Most human infections came from contact with the blood or organs of infected animals and some from mosquito bites, so avoid livestock blood and raw milk and keep up the repellent habit.

Is it safe to visit Senegal while pregnant?

CDC's Senegal page lists Zika, and CDC's Zika page puts Senegal among areas with current or past transmission but no outbreak. For those areas it tells pregnant travelers to "Talk to a health care provider about potential risks. If you decide to travel, prevent mosquito bites and sexual exposure to Zika." Have that conversation at your travel clinic visit, before you book.

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.

Senegal's dry season is the easy one. Malaria advice still covers Dakar.