Medical Summary
The health risk information presented here is summarized from Shoreland Travax®, a decision-support tool used by health care providers to perform a detailed health risk analysis based on specific locations, individual travel styles, and traveler risk behaviors. Travax provides practitioners current, independently researched malaria risk and prevention recommendations in a map-based format that goes beyond the annual WHO and US CDC statements included here. Not included here are current reports from Travax of disease outbreaks or environmental events that may pose elevated risks to travelers’ health and safety. The Providers section of this site offers a directory of health care providers who utilize Shoreland Travax for travel health counseling. Learn more about the detailed reports and maps available from these practitioners (includes links to samples).
General Information
Guyana is a developing nation classified as upper middle income. Located in South America (east of Venezuela and west of Suriname), the climate classifications range from humid equatorial (no dry season) in the north to predominantly humid equatorial (short dry season) in the south.
Vaccinations
Yellow Fever
See also: Library article for Yellow Fever
An official yellow fever vaccination certificate may be required depending on your itinerary. Vaccination is usually recommended if you’ll be traveling in areas where there is risk of yellow fever transmission.
- Requirement: A certificate proving yellow fever vaccination is required for travelers aged ≥ 1 year coming from countries with risk of YF transmission. This also applies to airport transit stops (no exit through immigration checkpoint) longer than 4 hours in risk countries.
- Official Status: listed by WHO as a country where YF transmission risk is present.
Other Vaccines
Depending on your itinerary, your personal risk factors, and the length of your visit, your health care provider may offer you vaccination against chikungunya, COVID-19, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, influenza, measles, mumps, rubella, mpox, rabies, or typhoid fever. Routine immunizations, such as those that prevent tetanus/diphtheria or "childhood" diseases, should be reviewed and updated as needed.
Malaria
See also: Library article for Malaria
The following is current information as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC):
WHO—International Travel and Health (current online update, Country List)
(2020) Malaria risk due to P. vivax (32%), P. falciparum (34%) and mixed infections (9%) is high throughout the year in all parts of the interior. Risk is highest in regions 1, 7, 8 and parts of 9, and very low in regions 2, 3, 10 and parts of 6 with no risk in regions 4 and 5.- Recommended prevention in risk areas: C – Risk of P. falciparum malaria, in combination with reported chloroquine and sulfadoxine–pyrimethamine resistance. Mosquito bite prevention plus atovaquone–proguanil or doxycycline or mefloquine chemoprophylaxis (select according to reported side effects and contraindications) a
aAlternatively, for travel to rural areas with low risk of malaria infection, mosquito bite prevention can be combined with stand–by emergency treatment (SBET).
WHO Country List footnote: When available, the date of the most recent update or confirmation is indicated in parentheses in the country list. If no date is indicated, the most recent update or confirmation was provided before 2013.
CDC—Health Information for International Travel (current online edition)
Areas with malaria: All areas. Rare cases in cities of Amsterdam and Georgetown.- Drug resistance3 : Chloroquine.
- Malaria species: P. falciparum 50%, P. vivax 50%.
- Recommended chemoprophylaxis: Areas with malaria except cities of Amsterdam and Georgetown: Atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, mefloquine, or tafenoquine.4 Cities of Amsterdam and Georgetown: None (practice mosquito avoidance).
3 Refers to P. falciparum malaria unless otherwise noted.
4 Primaquine and tafenoquine can cause hemolytic anemia in people with G6PD deficiency. Patients must be screened for G6PD deficiency before starting primaquine or tafenoquine. See Tafenoquine Approved for Malaria Prophylaxis and Treatment for more information.
Other Concerns
Travelers' Diarrhea
See also: Library article for Travelers' Diarrhea
High risk exists throughout the country, including in deluxe accommodations. Community sanitation and food safety measures are generally inadequate. Some itineraries (e.g., remote destinations, austere accommodations) and activities (e.g., ecotourism, eating street or local-market food) further increase risk.
Travelers should observe food and beverage precautions, which reduce the likelihood of illness.
Travelers should carry loperamide for self-treatment of diarrhea and, if risk is moderate to high, an antibiotic to add if diarrhea is severe. Consult a knowledgeable health care provider regarding which antibiotic is appropriate for you and most effective for your destination.
Other Food-Borne Illnesses
Precautions to prevent brucellosis, seafood poisoning may be needed.
Insect- and Arthropod-Borne Diseases
Chagas' disease (American trypanosomiasis), dengue, leishmaniasis, Zika may pose a risk. Personal protective measures are important.
Other Disease and Health Risks
Additional concerns include helminths, leptospirosis, marine hazards, schistosomiasis, sexually transmitted infections, snakebites, tuberculosis.
Consular Advice
The material below includes information from the US Department of State (DOS), the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCO), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), and Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), as well as from additional open-source material. Standard safety precautions that apply to all international travel can be found in the Library article Safety and Security.
Consular Travel Advice
Due to crime, US (DOS) advises reconsidering travel (or avoiding nonessential travel) to this country. UK (FCO), Canada (GAC), and Australia (DFAT) have no current warnings.
Terrorism Risk
No intrinsic risk of attack by terrorist groups exists, but unforeseen attacks are possible.
Crime
High risk of violent crime (armed robbery, home robbery, carjacking, assault, and murder) and high risk of petty crime exist throughout the country, especially in Georgetown (the Botanic Gardens, Stabroek Market, behind Bourda Market, Tiger Bay, South Georgetown, Sea Wall, and Albouystown areas); in areas of East Coast Demerara, Bartica (Cuyuni-Mazaruni Region); in tourist resorts along the Essequibo River.
Civil Unrest
Protests and demonstrations may infrequently occur and have the potential to turn violent without warning. Bystanders are at risk of harm from violence or from the response by authorities. Disruption to transportation, free movement, or the ability to carry out daily activities may occur.
Unsafe Areas
Piracy (involving commercial vessels) occurs in coastal waters.
Transportation Safety
Significant risk of traffic-related injury or death exists. The road traffic death rate is more than 24 per 100,000 population, the highest risk category. Carefully assess the safety of transportation options before any road travel.
Speed laws are poorly enforced.
Structural standards for vehicles may not meet international standards.
Airline Safety
The US Federal Aviation Administration has determined that the civil aviation authority of this country does not oversee its air carriers in accordance with minimum international safety standards.
Natural Disasters
The rainy season is from May through August and from November through January. Floods, mudslides, and landslides may occur, especially in coastal areas.
Consular Information
Selected Embassies or Consulates in Guyana
- United States: [+592] 225-4900/9; gy.usembassy.gov
- Canada: [+592] 227-2081; www.guyana.gc.ca
- United Kingdom: [+592] 226-5881; www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-high-commission-georgetown
- Australia: [+592] 665-1198
Guyana's Embassies or Consulates in Selected Countries
- In the U.S.: www.guyanaembassyusa.org
- In Canada: [+1] 613-235-7249
- In the U.K.: www.guyanahclondon.co.uk
- In Australia: Guyana does not have an embassy or consulate in Australia.
Visa/HIV Testing
HIV testing is not required to obtain a tourist, work, or residence visa.
