29 Things You Should Never Do in Indonesia

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Never Go Out Without Bug Repellant

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Just remember, Indonesia is a tropical country. Since it is a tropical country, Indonesia also has a lot of mosquitos. And mosquitos bring with them varied kinds of illnesses, namely: malaria, dengue fever, Chikungunya, Japanese B encephalitis, yellow fever, and a variety of forest and jungle fevers. The most prevalent of which is dengue. According to the Straitstimes “Official figures show that Indonesia recorded more than 120,000 dengue cases each year between 2005 and 2018. More than 1,000 people died from the disease annually. But 2016 was an exceptionally bad year with 204,171 cases reported and 1,598 fatalities.

Other than mosquitos, other bugs (like ticks, and fleas) can spread a number of diseases in Indonesia. Many of these diseases cannot be prevented with a vaccine or medicine. The good thing is that, these illnesses can be prevented by avoiding mosquito/insect bites. The mosquito that carries dengue bites day and night, so use insect avoidance measures at all times. As advised by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), for protection against ticks and mosquitos: Use a repellent that contains 20% or more DEET for protection that lasts up to several hours. While for protection against mosquitos: Products with one of the necessary active ingredients (DEET, Picaridin, Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE) or para-methane-diol (PMD), IR3535 and 2-undecanone) can also help prevent mosquito bites. Higher percentages of active ingredient provide longer protection.

To fully enjoy your vacation without suffering from an unexpected illness, ALWAYS remember to put on your bug repellant while in Indonesia (especially if you are planning to spend a long time outdoors).