PandemicPreparedness

Updated: September 2025

• Mpox
• Bird Flu
• COVID-19
• MERS-CoV

Mpox

The first case was confirmed in August 2023. Local transmission has been established since then. See the latest updates on the Ministry of Health website and the WHO mpox dashboard.

Testing is available at two government and eight public university labs. Mpox testing kits were approved in September 2024.

Screening measures for travellers: see details 19 August 2024.

Bird flu

H5N1 was first detected in Malaysia in August 2004 in Kelantan state, near the Thai border. Malaysia declared itself free of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 on1 July 2017, following a period of 90 days with no new outbreaks. However, the disease re-occurred in 2018 in domestic birds in Sabah. Further outbreaks have not been recorded.

Human cases of bird flu

No human cases of bird flu H5N1 have been reported in Malaysia. In February 2014, a 67-year-old Chinese woman from Guangdong was confirmed as the first imported case of H7N9 in Malaysia. The patient, who had a history of exposure to live poultry at a market in China, developed flu symptoms on her visit to Sabah and was then hospitalised. She recovered and was discharged on 13 March 2014.

COVID-19

Cases were first reported in late January 2020.

For more information, see KKMNOW Dashboards.

View the hotline numbers which vary by location.

MERS-CoV

Malaysia reported its first imported case of MERS in April 2014. The patient, a 54-year-old man from Baru Pahat in Johor, had a history of travel to Jeddah. While in Saudi Arabia, he visited a camel farm and consumed camel milk. The man, known to be suffering from chronic diseases, developed symptoms on his return and was hospitalised, but he passed away. A second imported case was reported on 1 Jan 2018. The 55-year-old man from Selangor had contact with camels and drank raw camel milk while in Saudi Arabia for the Umrah Pilgrimage. He developed symptoms upon returning and was hospitalised.