Yangon - Post Report Question and Answers
Are there any particular health concerns? What is the quality of available medical care? What medical conditions typically require medical evacuation?
Serious injuries can be a death sentence if you seek care in Myanmar. Expats use the SOS clinic for medical needs and Evergreen dental for minor and emergent dental issues. For anything serious everyone travels to Bangkok, Singapore, or Kuala Lampur. Serious infections are something to be concerned about. Open sewers that flow freely into local waterways create a lot of issues. - May 2019
This is the worst thing about this post: there are a few good doctors locally, but anything specialized requires an immediate departure for Bangkok or Singapore, and trauma care is really poor. Dengue, typhoid, TB, and rabies are concerns. There is a good dentist, but not much in the way of pediatrics or any treatment for a long-term condition. I feel like at any given time I know someone who is medically evacuated. - Mar 2019
Yangon is a hardship post for a reason. Medical care is quite limited here. The embassy has a great medical unit and there are a couple of hospitals and clinics in the city that we work with, but anything non-routine will require a medevac to Bangkok or Singapore. - Sep 2018
This is a bad city in which to live if you have any significant health concerns. In addition to poor-quality medical care (ill-equipped ambulances; poorly-supplied hospitals; undertrained doctors), a variety of illnesses are common here, like malaria and dengue. The embassy is happy to help arrange appointments to address just about anything over in Bangkok. Food poisoning is also a fact of life--just about everyone gets it at least twice in their first 6 months, and hopefully less from then on out, but it's still common to have a bout of it a couple times a year, even if you're eating at higher-quality establishments. Visitors should absolutely bring something like Immodium or Pepto-Bismol and be leery of street food. - Mar 2017
Available medical care is very limited and medical evacuations are frequent occurrences. People seem to fall a lot due to the sidewalks. People are also sick with stomach bugs a lot. Not as much as India but still on a semi-regular basis. - Feb 2017
Medical care is not great. Bangkok and Singapore are good options for anything more than stitches. It takes about 45 minutes via airplane to get to Bangkok. - Oct 2016
Digestive problems; local health care is a bit dodgy - May 2016
Local medical treatment/services don't really meet international standards. But there are foreign doctors running clinics in town. Most expats go to Bangkok for dental care or other medical care. - May 2016
Medical care is not good, though there is an SOS clinic. For emergencies you'll need to go to Bangkok or Singapore. Biggest health concern is Dengue fever. We personally know several people who got it. Take precautions- use bug juice at night and cover up. Stomach bugs are also a frequent issue. - May 2016
Japanese Encephalitis was a new vaccine we had to get. The Embassy also wants us to get the Rabies vaccine...but we declined. Apparently they do have rabid dogs in Yangon. They have many diseases here so get all the CDC recommended vaccines. Eat salads at reputable restaurants, don't eat the cold samosas on the street, make sure they are still burning your fingers. International SOS is a great clinic that can handle emergency and the minor things, but medevac to Bangkok if further care is needed. The Embassy has a nurse practitioner for staff and dependents. The hospitals in Yangon are not a comfortable place to even walk through as a visitor. - Apr 2014
There is an SOS clinic and a couple of hospital clinics but anything of a serious nature warrants a trip to Bangkok. - Feb 2014
There is an SOS Hospital and Post MED unit, but this is a bigger issue than I expected. You pretty much have to go to Bangkok for anything big or Singapore for anything urgent. The Burmese standard of care is ridiculous. - Jul 2010
Medical care is minimal, if the chances are good that you might need emergency care, stay out of Burma. - Apr 2009
Burma does not have good medical care. There is an International SOS Clinic with an excellent French Doctor. Major health needs will be taken care of in Bangkok or Singapore. - Nov 2008
