Mosquitoes in Zimbabwe: Malaria Surge, Mana Pools Tsetse & Hwange (2026)

The CDC recommends malaria prevention medicine everywhere in Zimbabwe, Harare included, and national cases by mid-April 2026 ran far above 2025. The dry June–August safari season tends to see few mosquitoes, and at Mana Pools and elsewhere in the Zambezi Valley, tsetse flies call for neutral long sleeves.

Are there mosquitoes in Zimbabwe? Yes, and the CDC recommends malaria prevention medicine for the whole country in every month, Harare and the high plateau included. Cases in early 2026 also ran far above 2025. A dry-season safari to Hwange or Mana Pools tends to see few mosquitoes, and in the Zambezi Valley the daytime tsetse fly is the second thing to plan for.

Disease risk ElevatedCDC recommends malaria medicine for all of Zimbabwe, and cases by mid-April 2026 ran far above 2025; tsetse in the Zambezi Valley can carry sleeping sickness.

Bite nuisance NoticeableFew mosquitoes in the June–October dry season and more in the rains; tsetse bite on some Mana Pools routes, while Hwange and Kariba draw few complaints.

CirculatingMalaria (all areas, 2026 surge)Sleeping sickness (Zambezi Valley)No yellow fever vaccine advisedNot on CDC's dengue listNo chikungunya reported

CDC noticesNo country-specific notice for mosquito-borne disease

Travel clinicCDC recommends malaria medicine for all areas of Zimbabwe, Harare included, with no exception for altitude or season: atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, mefloquine or tafenoquine. Yellow fever vaccine is not recommended, but proof is required from travelers 9 months or older arriving from a country with yellow fever risk, including layovers of more than 12 hours there. See a travel clinic 4–6 weeks before you fly.

When to goJune–August, the cool dry season and peak safari time, tends to have the fewest mosquitoes. September and October stay dry but get very hot, with tsetse active on some Mana Pools back roads. The November–March rains tend to bring the most mosquitoes. CDC's malaria advice applies in every month.

Data checkedOctober 2026 · sources

Malaria: the whole country, and a heavy 2026

What CDC says: "CDC recommends that travelers going to Zimbabwe take prescription medicine to prevent malaria." Transmission occurs in "All" areas, mostly Plasmodium falciparum resistant to chloroquine, with no exception for altitude or season, so the high plateau around Harare is covered too. The options are atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, mefloquine and tafenoquine. What we suggest you do with this: book a travel-medicine appointment 4–6 weeks before departure with your full route. Our malaria-zone checklist covers everything around the prescription.

Ministry of Health figures for week 15, in mid-April 2026, relayed by Save the Children in April and by Al Jazeera on May 28, showed 65,399 malaria cases and 174 deaths nationwide, against 36,421 cases and 85 deaths at the same point of 2025. Save the Children linked the rise to heavy rains and the end of the Zimbabwe Assistance Program in Malaria, which it said left net shortages and delayed spraying. The figures are national, with no breakdown by province.

Malaria mosquitoes bite from dusk to dawn, the hours of sundowners and dinner outside. Put repellent on before sunset (DEET 20% or more, or picaridin 20%), wear long sleeves after dark and sleep under a net or in a screened, air-conditioned room.

Tsetse in the Zambezi Valley

The CDC's Zimbabwe page lists African sleeping sickness, spread by tsetse flies, and the country's foci are in Hurungwe and Kariba districts in the north. In August 2024 a 57-year-old US traveler fell ill about two weeks after a safari in the Zambezi Valley in northern Zimbabwe and recovered after intensive care. Three more travelers bitten in the valley followed by January 2025. They were the valley's first cases since 2019, according to a CDC report from March 2025.

At a research site in Mana Pools, tsetse caught from cattle fell from about 50 flies per animal per afternoon in 1990 to about 0.1 in 2017, a drop a 2018 study ties to rising temperatures. A 2012 Mana Pools study found them biting people about as often near buildings as in woodland, and far more often on a moving truck. The CDC says tsetse are drawn to bright and contrasting colors, so wear thick, neutral-colored long sleeves and trousers in camp and on drives. For any fever or an ulcerated bite in the weeks after the trip, get prompt care and tell the doctor you were in a sleeping sickness area.

When to go

June to August, the cool dry season and peak safari time, is when regular visitors report the fewest mosquitoes. September and October stay dry but get very hot, and tsetse stay active on some Mana Pools routes. The November–March rains tend to bring the most mosquitoes. The CDC's malaria advice applies year-round.

Where you're going

safari

Hwange

Disease risk ElevatedBite nuisance Occasional

Malaria medicine applies here as everywhere in Zimbabwe. Hwange has a reputation among visitors for having no tsetse, though no official survey confirms it, and dry-season mosquitoes tend to be few.

safari

Mana Pools

Disease risk ElevatedBite nuisance Noticeable

In the Zambezi Valley, where CDC reported four sleeping sickness cases in travelers in 2024–25. Tsetse are far fewer than in 1990 but still heavy on some back roads, so dress for them on every drive.

lake

Lake Kariba & houseboats

Disease risk ElevatedBite nuisance Occasional

Malaria medicine applies on the water as on land, so a net or screened cabin matters overnight. Kariba District is one of Zimbabwe's two sleeping sickness foci. CDC advises against swimming in the lake.

city

Victoria Falls town

Disease risk ElevatedBite nuisance Noticeable

Covered in full in our Victoria Falls briefing. Regular visitors report few mosquitoes in June–August and more around watered hotel gardens in the rains. No tsetse are reported in town.

Our Victoria Falls briefing covers both sides of the falls, and our Botswana briefing covers Chobe and the Okavango Delta. The CDC advises against swimming in fresh water because of schistosomiasis, including Lake Kariba and the Zambezi.

The Zimbabwe kit

For evenings by the water and days in the valley.

Picaridin 20% travel sprays: odorless and quick to reapply before a sunset cruise. One 3.4 oz bottle lasts one person about a week.
Permethrin 0.5% for evening clothes: treat a long-sleeved shirt, trousers and socks at home 48 hours before you fly. Treated fabric repels and kills mosquitoes on contact through several washes. Clothing only, never skin.
Thick, neutral-colored long sleeves and trousers for Mana Pools and the rest of the valley.

Carry-on trio → Permethrin → Full rankings

What travelers report

Paraphrased from TripAdvisor threads and reviews, newest first, and linked so you can read them in full. Most aren't dated, and the season changes the picture more than anything else.

Mana Pools (Nyamatusi route) · September · 2025
A self-drive trip report from September 2025 covering Mana Pools and Hwange warned that there are lots of tsetse flies on the southern Nyamatusi route. TripAdvisor ↗
Lake Kariba (houseboat)
A reviewer of a four-night houseboat trip warned that the area is malaria-endemic and advised bringing insect repellent. TripAdvisor ↗
Lake Kariba (boat cruise)
A reviewer said the boat's beds had mosquito nets and that swimming in the lake is inadvisable. TripAdvisor ↗
Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) · June-August dry season and rainy season
Regulars who visit in the June-August dry season said they see few or no mosquitoes but still take a daily antimalarial. A longtime poster who goes in the rainy season found more mosquitoes around hotels and guesthouses, from watered gardens, than on safari. 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 Zimbabwe and which parks you visited. After time in a malaria area, that rule holds for a year.

Traveler questions

Do I need malaria pills for Zimbabwe, even Harare?

The CDC recommends malaria prevention medicine for all of Zimbabwe, with no exception for altitude or season, so Harare and the high plateau are covered along with Hwange, Mana Pools, Kariba, Matobo and Victoria Falls. It names atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, mefloquine and tafenoquine. Which one fits you is a call for a travel clinic, made 4–6 weeks before departure with your full route. Our malaria-zone checklist covers the rest of the preparation.

Is the 2026 malaria surge a reason to change plans?

Ministry of Health figures relayed by Save the Children and Al Jazeera showed 65,399 cases and 174 deaths by mid-April 2026, against 36,421 cases and 85 deaths at the same point of 2025. The figures are national, with no breakdown by province or park. The CDC already recommends malaria medicine for the whole country, so the plan stays the same. See a travel clinic, take the medicine exactly as prescribed and keep a strict dusk-to-dawn routine.

Are there tsetse flies at Hwange and Mana Pools?

Mana Pools, yes. It sits in the Zambezi Valley, where tsetse bite by day and follow moving vehicles, and some back roads are heavy with them, though far fewer than in 1990. Hwange has a reputation among visitors for having no tsetse, which no official survey confirms. CDC says tsetse are drawn to bright and contrasting colors, so pack thick, neutral-colored long sleeves for both.

Do I need a yellow fever vaccine for Zimbabwe?

The CDC says "Vaccine is not recommended," and Zimbabwe doesn't require it on a direct trip from the US. It does require proof from travelers 9 months or older arriving from a country with yellow fever risk, including airport transits or layovers of more than 12 hours there, so expect the rule to apply if Zimbabwe follows a safari in a country where the CDC recommends the vaccine, such as Kenya or Uganda.

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.

All of Zimbabwe is a CDC malaria area, and 2026 has been a heavy year.