* A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from all travellers over one year of age arriving from endemic or infected areas. Travellers arriving from non-endemic zones should note that vaccination is strongly recommended for travel outside the urban areas, even if an outbreak of the disease has not been reported and they would not normally require a vaccination certificate to enter the country.

Mains water in the urban and resort areas is safe to drink. All other water should be regarded as being potentially contaminated. Water used for drinking, brushing teeth or making ice should have first been boiled or otherwise sterilised. Fresh milk should be boiled if unpasteurised. Powdered or tinned milk is available and is advised. Avoid dairy products that are likely to have been made from unboiled milk. Only eat well-cooked meat and fish. Vegetables should be cooked and fruit peeled.

Diarrhoeal diseases including giardiasis are common. Bilharzia (schistosomiasis) is present; avoid swimming and paddling in stagnant fresh water. Hepatitis E is widespread. Hepatitis B is endemic. Cholera is a risk in this country and precautions are necessary; up-to-date advice should be sought before deciding whether these precautions should include vaccination as medical opinion is divided over its effectiveness.

Visitors are advised to bring good supplies of sunscreen, insect repellent and indigestion/diarrhoea medicines; all of these may be needed and they can prove expensive or, in some cases, impossible to buy in The Gambia. The government provides both therapeutic and preventative medical and health services, and plays a dominant role in health services. Health insurance is strongly advised. Travellers in possession of prescriptive drugs should carry proof of their prescriptions preferably in labelled containers. Police have on occasion arrested travellers carrying unlabelled containers.