Staying Healthy in Brazil

Staying healthy in Brazil starts with a doctor or travel clinic and a clear picture of your route. Which vaccines for Brazil your doctor suggests depends largely on where you go, because the official guidance is drawn state by state. The US CDC advises seeing your doctor at least a month before your trip. Our Destination Consultants are travel specialists, not medical professionals, and cannot give medical advice, but we can tell you exactly where an itinerary goes.

Yellow fever: not required to enter, widely recommended

Brazil does not require proof of yellow fever vaccination to enter, according to the CDC, which lists the entry requirement as “not required”, and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

The CDC recommends the vaccine for travelers aged 9 months and older going to Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Distrito Federal (including Brasília), Espírito Santo, Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Pará, Paraná, Piauí, Rio de Janeiro (including the city and all coastal islands), Rio Grande do Sul, Rondônia, Roraima, Santa Catarina, São Paulo (including the city and all coastal islands), Tocantins, designated areas of Bahia, and Iguaçu Falls. It does not recommend it for travel limited to other areas, naming Fortaleza and Recife.

PAHO counted 120 confirmed human cases in Brazil in 2025, almost all in São Paulo state, Pará and Minas Gerais. According to WHO, one dose gives lifelong protection, and a person is considered protected about 10 days after vaccination.

Other vaccines and malaria

The CDC’s Brazil list also covers routine vaccines including measles, hepatitis A and B for unvaccinated travelers, typhoid to consider where sanitation is poor or for stays of a month or more, and rabies depending on your trip. As of November 2026, the only travel health notice on the CDC’s Brazil page is its global measles notice. The CDC recommends prescription malaria prevention only for certain areas, chiefly in the Amazon region. Here is how its guidance maps onto our routes:

The CDC advises bite precautions rather than medicine where cases are rare. For Bahia, check your exact stops with your clinic against the map on the CDC’s Brazil page.

Mosquitoes, dengue and Oropouche

Dengue, Zika and chikungunya are spread by mosquitoes, and the CDC reports an elevated chikungunya risk in Brazil. Dengue is not only a jungle concern: Brazil’s Ministry of Health reported that cases in the first half of 2026 were concentrated in Goiás, Tocantins, Minas Gerais and São Paulo, and warned in July 2026 that El Niño could push cases up in the coming season, most of all in the Southeast, home to Rio and São Paulo.

Oropouche is spread mainly by a tiny biting midge Brazilians call maruim, according to the Ministry of Health, and PAHO reported that Brazil had most of the Americas’ cases from January to July 2025, led by Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro states. The CDC notes that Zika and Oropouche can both pass from a pregnant woman to her baby.

The CDC’s bite-prevention guidance is an EPA-registered repellent with DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, PMD or 2-undecanone, applied after sunscreen, plus long-sleeved shirts, long pants and permethrin-treated clothing.

Our co-founder Juergen Keller loves the Tucano river cruise on the Rio Negro, whose slightly acidic black water he credits for the few mosquitoes there: “we went now for a week on the Tucano and not a single time have we used repellent.” That is his experience, not health advice, and the CDC lists malaria in all areas of Amazonas.

Food, water and swimming

The US CDC’s general advice for travelers is to choose factory-sealed drinks wherever tap water might be contaminated, and to skip ice where clean water is a concern. Our Brazil food and drink guide covers what to try.

For Brazil, the CDC also advises avoiding fresh, unchlorinated water such as rivers and lakes because of schistosomiasis, and floodwater after heavy rain because of leptospirosis. If a river swim appeals, raise it with your doctor.

Remote lodges, river cruises and insurance

Some of the best of Brazil is far from the nearest city. On our Pantanal and Rio trip you fly to Cuiabá and drive out to a wildlife lodge, and the longer Tucano itinerary sails beyond the last settlements. Our co-founder Brad Nehring’s favorite, Rio, Paraty and Ilha Grande, includes an island with no cars, and Rio and Minas Gerais heads inland. See Brazil travel insurance for medical and evacuation cover and the Amazon health page for the rainforest, or start from our Brazil page.

Frequently asked questions

What vaccines do I need for Brazil?

None is required for entry, according to the CDC and PAHO. The CDC recommends routine vaccines including measles, hepatitis A and B for unvaccinated travelers, and yellow fever for most of the country, including Rio and Iguaçu Falls.

Is there malaria in Brazil?

The CDC lists malaria mainly in the Amazon region, and none in the cities of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Brasília or at Iguaçu Falls.

Can you drink the water in Brazil?

The US CDC’s general advice for travelers is to choose factory-sealed drinks wherever tap water might be contaminated, and to skip ice where clean water is a concern.