Active and emerging infectious disease outbreaks worldwide, monitored for cross-border transmission risk to Malaysia and Southeast Asia. Data sourced from the World Health Organization Disease Outbreak News (DONs) and national health authorities.
| Disease | Affected Regions | Risk to Malaysia | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Avian Influenza (H5N1)
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1
|
Southeast Asia, East Asia, North America, Europe. Circulating in wild bird populations and poultry farms globally. Sporadic human cases from animal exposure. | Moderate | Active global circulation with limited human-to-human transmission. Malaysia DVS monitoring poultry imports and wild bird reservoirs. No sustained human transmission chains established. |
|
Mpox (Monkeypox)
Monkeypox virus — Clade I & II
|
Central and East Africa (Clade I), global (Clade II). DRC remains the epicentre for Clade I outbreaks with cross-border spread to neighbouring countries. | Low | WHO PHEIC declared for Clade I. Sporadic imported cases detected in Southeast Asia. Malaysia has confirmed previous imported cases. Jynneos vaccine available at select facilities. |
|
Nipah Virus
Nipah henipavirus
|
India (Kerala — recurrent outbreaks), Bangladesh (seasonal spillover from fruit bats). Malaysia was the site of the original 1998–1999 outbreak in Negeri Sembilan. | Moderate | KKM has activated enhanced border surveillance. No local cases. High case fatality rate (40–75%) makes this a priority for early detection. Historical significance — Nipah was first identified in Sungai Nipah, Negeri Sembilan. |
|
Cholera
Vibrio cholerae O1 / O139
|
Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Haiti, parts of the Middle East. Multiple countries reporting outbreaks exacerbated by conflict and infrastructure collapse. | Low | Malaysia has robust water treatment infrastructure. Risk confined to travellers returning from endemic areas. Oral cholera vaccine recommended for high-risk travellers. |
|
Measles
Measles morbillivirus
|
Global resurgence. Outbreaks in Europe, South Asia, and parts of Africa linked to declining vaccination coverage post-pandemic. | Moderate | Malaysia's MMR vaccination coverage has declined in some states below the 95% herd immunity threshold. KKM conducting catch-up campaigns. Unvaccinated travellers at risk. |
|
Marburg Virus Disease
Marburg marburgvirus
|
East Africa (Tanzania, Rwanda — recent outbreaks). Egyptian fruit bat reservoir identified in sub-Saharan cave systems. | Low | No cases in Southeast Asia. WHO coordinating regional response. Travel advisory awareness issued for affected regions. High case fatality rate (~50%). |
|
COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2
|
Global endemic phase. New variants continue to emerge but with substantially reduced severity in populations with high vaccination and natural immunity levels. | Endemic | Malaysia transitioned to endemic phase in April 2022. KKM continues weekly sentinel surveillance at healthcare facilities. Booster doses recommended for high-risk groups including elderly and immunocompromised. |
Malaysia's position as a major international travel and trade hub in Southeast Asia makes global disease surveillance particularly important. Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) handles over 50 million passengers annually, with direct flight connections to regions where outbreaks are actively ongoing. The country's extensive land borders with Thailand and maritime proximity to Indonesia and the Philippines create additional pathways for disease introduction.
Malaysia has direct historical experience with emerging zoonotic threats. The Nipah virus was first identified during the 1998–1999 Malaysian outbreak, which resulted in 265 confirmed cases and 105 deaths — primarily among pig farmers in Negeri Sembilan, Perak, and Selangor. The outbreak led to the culling of over one million pigs and fundamentally reshaped Malaysia's approach to zoonotic disease surveillance and agricultural biosecurity.
More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how rapidly a novel pathogen can overwhelm healthcare systems. Malaysia's cumulative experience with SARS (2003), H1N1 influenza (2009), and COVID-19 (2020–2022) has built substantial institutional capacity for outbreak response — but this capacity depends on early detection of threats before they reach Malaysian shores.
Malaysia's Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC) under the Ministry of Health operates continuous surveillance at all 66 international entry points — airports, seaports, and land crossings. Under normal conditions, passive health screening is in place for all arrivals. When specific outbreak alerts are issued by WHO or when neighbouring countries report significant outbreaks, KKM activates enhanced protocols including thermal scanning, health declaration forms, and in some cases mandatory testing or quarantine periods.
These enhanced protocols were refined extensively during the COVID-19 pandemic and remain operational infrastructure that can be activated within hours of a risk assessment change. The transition from pandemic-specific systems (MySejahtera) to broader health surveillance platforms means Malaysia now has more capable border health infrastructure than at any previous point in its history.
Malaysia participates in the ASEAN BioDiaspora Virtual Centre (ABVC) and the ASEAN Health Cluster, which facilitate real-time information sharing on emerging threats across Southeast Asia. Regional coordination is particularly important for diseases like Nipah (circulating in the Bangladesh-India corridor) and avian influenza (endemic in poultry populations across mainland and maritime Southeast Asia), where cross-border animal movement and trade create continuous introduction risk.
If you have recently travelled to an outbreak-affected region and experience symptoms consistent with a notifiable disease, contact the KKM CPRC hotline at 03-8881 0200 (24/7) or visit your nearest government hospital emergency department. Do not visit a GP clinic first if you suspect a high-consequence infection — go directly to a hospital where isolation facilities are available. A full list of emergency contacts is available on our resources page.
This page aggregates information from several authoritative sources: the WHO Disease Outbreak News (DONs) published at who.int, Malaysia Ministry of Health (KKM) press statements via their official Telegram channel, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) travel health notices, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) threat assessments, and regional surveillance data from the ASEAN BioDiaspora Virtual Centre.
For Malaysia-specific disease data including dengue, HFMD, and tuberculosis, visit our Cases by State tracker or explore trends on the Statistics page. To see outbreak locations on a map, visit the Outbreak Map.