Chikungunya Risk for Travelers: Where It Spreads and When to Get Vaccinated

The outbreak and country lists below are the ones CDC gave when this page was written. They change often; check CDC's travel health notices before a trip.

Chikungunya virus circulates in tropical and subtropical regions, and cases and outbreaks have been identified in more than 100 countries. CDC tracks where the risk is highest so U.S. travelers can decide whether to be vaccinated and, for some people such as pregnant women, whether to avoid travel. Surveillance and testing vary greatly between countries, so CDC does not always know the current risk everywhere.

Outbreak areas

CDC had chikungunya travel health notices for outbreaks in:

• Bolivia (Santa Cruz and Cochabamba Departments)
• Costa Rica (northwest region)
• French Guiana
• Mauritius
• Nicaragua
• Suriname

Vaccination is recommended for travelers visiting an area with an outbreak.

How CDC decides to post a notice

CDC gives priority to outbreaks that could affect U.S. travelers. Before posting a notice, it weighs:

• laboratory-confirmed disease among residents or travelers
• how many people are sick compared with historical levels
• whether cases are occurring in the local mosquito season
• any rise in cases among U.S. travelers
• how large and widespread the outbreak is
• spread into a new area, or one without cases for a long time, where more people can be infected and pass the virus to uninfected mosquitoes that then bite others
• how many U.S. travelers typically visit the destination

Countries with elevated risk

Even without a current outbreak, U.S. travelers to these countries are at elevated risk: Brazil, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines and Thailand.

Each has had a median of one or more cases a year in U.S. travelers over the past 5 years, at least one of them laboratory-confirmed. Vaccination may be considered for travelers visiting or moving to one of these places for an extended stay.

In the United States

The most recent locally acquired case in a U.S. state was reported in 2025.

Sources

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Areas at Risk for Chikungunya." https://www.cdc.gov/chikungunya/data-maps/index.html
• CDC travel health notices: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices; chikungunya vaccines: https://www.cdc.gov/chikungunya/vaccines/index.html; chikungunya in the United States: https://www.cdc.gov/chikungunya/data-maps/chikungunya-us.html