Do not drink the tap water. Dengue is endemic nationwide and peaks December to April, so repellent matters more than any vaccine. Public emergency care is free but overwhelmed; private hospitals want proof of insurance first.
- Do not drink the tap water. Bottled, boiled or filtered only; ice in established restaurants and hotels is made from purified water and is fine.
- The real risk is mosquitoes, not water. Dengue is endemic countrywide and peaks December to April, so DEET or icaridin repellent is the most useful health item you can pack.
- Yellow fever vaccination is recommended for the Amazon, Iguacu, the Pantanal and inland rural areas. No certificate is needed to enter Brazil, but you may need one to move on.
- Public emergency care is free to foreigners but severely overcrowded. Private hospitals are world class and require proof of insurance or a financial guarantee before admission.
- Bring medication in original packaging with a translated prescription. Loose or unlabelled pills are prohibited and are what triggers a problem at the border.
Do not drink the tap water. It is treated in the big cities but not to a standard visitors should rely on. Bottled, boiled or filtered only. Ice in established restaurants and hotels is made from purified water and is fine.
The real risk is mosquitoes, not water
- Dengue is endemic across the whole country and peaks in the rainy summer months, December to April. Repellent with DEET or icaridin is the single most useful health item you can pack.
- Chikungunya, Zika and Oropouche circulate in the tropical regions.
- Malaria is low risk in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro but moderate to high in the Amazon basin.
Vaccinations
- Yellow fever is recommended for the Amazon basin, Iguacu, the Pantanal and inland rural areas. No certificate is needed to enter Brazil, but you may need one to move on to a neighbouring country.
- Routine: hepatitis A and B, typhoid, tetanus, and rabies for longer rural trips.
Hospitals
- Public emergency care through SUS is free to foreigners, including at UPA emergency units. It is also severely overcrowded, with long waits and little English.
- Private hospitals are world class - Hospital Albert Einstein and Hospital Sirio-Libanes in Sao Paulo, Copa Star in Rio de Janeiro - and they require proof of insurance or a financial guarantee before admission.
- Insurance is not legally required to enter, but cover of at least BRL 250,000 with evacuation is strongly advised.
Bringing your own medication
Under ANVISA resolution RDC 28/2011 you may bring personal medicines without a permit, in a quantity matching the length of your stay.
- Keep everything in original packaging with a prescription translated into English or Portuguese, showing the condition, dose and your name.
- Loose or unlabelled pills are prohibited and are what triggers a problem at the border.
- Controlled medicines - narcotics, psychotropics and amphetamine-based ADHD treatments - are inspected at the border and need the full paperwork.
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