I am stopping in Kuala Lumpur for one day en route to Australia. What vaccinations do I need?
For both destinations, you need to make sure all your existing vaccinations are current. Check with your doctor about whether you are due for tetanus, diphtheria, etc. You may want to consider an influenza vaccine, depending on your age and general health.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends hepatitis A and typhoid vaccines for travel to urban parts of Malaysia, but not for Australia. If you are going to spend your day in Kuala Lumpur traveling around the city, you should probably get those two shots. But if it is a stopover and you will be confined to a modern, Western-style hotel that caters to business travelers, you might be able to skip the vaccines. Talk it over with your doctor and read the information from the CDC site linked below.
Within the city, you should not have to worry about malaria. But there has been an outbreak of a deadly viral disease in Malaysia. Now called Nipah or hendra, the virus has been linked exclusively to pig farmers and those who have had contact with pigs.
Your main concern should be consuming safe food and water, so you do not get travelers’ diarrhea. Be cautious about what you eat and drink, especially when buying from street vendors.