Brazil vaccines and health: yellow fever, dengue and mosquitoes

Brazil requires no vaccine for entry. UK and US health agencies still recommend the yellow fever vaccine from 9 months of age for most of the country, including Rio, São Paulo, Brasília and Iguaçu Falls. See a doctor 4 to 8 weeks before you travel, so book a travel clinic now.

This page summarizes the advice of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the UK’s National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC, which runs TravelHealthPro) and Brazil’s Ministério da Saúde. It is not medical advice. A travel clinic or your doctor decides which vaccines and medicines fit you.

What to do first

Book a travel clinic appointment 4 to 8 weeks before you fly. Bring your vaccination record and your route, because the advice changes by state.

Tell the clinic about pregnancy, plans to get pregnant, immune conditions and your medicines. Several of the vaccines below are not for everyone.

Measles is circulating in many countries, so check you have had two doses of MMR before any international trip. Mosquito- and midge-borne diseases are the other main concern in Brazil, and they have no single vaccine. Pack repellent.

Check before you go: read the CDC’s Brazil destination page (US) or the TravelHealthPro Brazil page (UK) a few weeks before you fly. Both post outbreak updates and their full vaccine lists.

Yellow fever

Yellow fever is the main vaccine question for Brazil. There is no certificate requirement for entry, but the virus circulates in forest and rural areas in much of the country.

UK health guidance recommends the vaccine for travelers aged 9 months and older going to these places:

Vaccination is not recommended for Fortaleza, Recife and areas not on the list. That leaves out Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas and Sergipe. The US CDC map shows the same pattern: vaccination recommended in most of Brazil, and not recommended in a small part of the east coast.

If your trip mixes covered and uncovered states, such as Recife plus Rio, plan as if you need the vaccine.

Recent cases

Brazil still records yellow fever cases every year. In 2025, there were 102 confirmed cases and 41 deaths between January 1 and April 24, in four states. By July 23, 2026, the year’s count stood at 15 confirmed cases and eight deaths, with eleven cases in São Paulo state.

Brazil’s last urban yellow fever cases were in 1942. Cases since then come from the wild cycle, in forest and rural areas, which is why hikers and nature travelers face the most risk.

Timing, doses and who should not get it

Get the yellow fever dose at least 10 days before the trip. Brazil has used a single lifetime dose since April 2017, in line with the World Health Organization. Ask your clinic whether an older dose still counts for you.

These people should not receive the vaccine:

• Children under 9 months
• Women breastfeeding babies under 6 months
• People with a severe egg allergy
• People living with HIV with a CD4 count below 350
• People on chemotherapy or radiotherapy
• People with autoimmune diseases or on immunosuppressants

Pregnancy and age 60 or older are precautions rather than strict bans. Your clinic weighs those against your route.

Mosquito and midge diseases

Dengue, chikungunya, Zika and Oropouche all spread through bites, and all four are present in Brazil. Bite avoidance is the one step that covers all of them.

Simple habits cut your risk:

• Use a repellent with DEET, picaridin (icaridin) or IR3535, and reapply after swimming.
• Wear long sleeves and trousers at dawn and dusk, and in forest areas.
• Sleep in air-conditioned rooms or under a net where windows have no screens.
• Apply sunscreen first, then repellent.

Risk is highest in the rainy, hot months, which differ by region. See the best time to visit Brazil for rain by region.

Dengue

Dengue is common in Brazil, especially in the hot, wet months. There were 62,707 cases and eight deaths in the first month of 2026 alone, and 2025 had well over a million confirmed cases.

A dengue vaccine may be considered for people aged 4 and over who have had dengue before, for trips to risk or outbreak areas. Brazil added a dengue vaccine to the SUS, its public health system, on December 21, 2023, starting in 521 municipalities.

Warning signs of severe dengue usually appear as the fever drops, between days 3 and 7:

• Intense belly pain or repeated vomiting
• Dizziness, feeling faint or trouble breathing
• Bleeding from the nose, gums or in stool
• Tiredness or irritability

Go to an emergency service at once if bleeding or any warning sign appears. Avoid aspirin and ibuprofen if you might have dengue, and use paracetamol unless a doctor says otherwise.

Chikungunya

Brazil recorded 247,268 chikungunya cases and 120 deaths in 2025, as of December 20. A vaccine may be considered for people aged 12 and over going to outbreak regions, and for long-term or frequent travelers to higher-risk regions.

In the US, a chikungunya vaccine called VIMKUNYA is available for people 12 and older. It is recommended for travelers to an area with a chikungunya outbreak, and considered for stays of about 6 months or more in areas with elevated risk.

Zika

Zika is a risk across Brazil. There were 22,831 cases in 2025, as of November 1.

Advice for pregnancy:

• Pregnant women should discuss travel with a health professional.
• Avoid becoming pregnant during the trip and for 8 weeks after your last possible exposure.
• If both partners traveled, or only the man, couples should wait 3 months. If only the woman traveled, wait 2 months.

Oropouche

Oropouche spreads mainly through biting midges. Brazil has had human cases each year since 2024. Most outbreaks occur in Amazon Basin states, with rising cases in other states.

As of September 8, 2025, Brazil had 11,967 confirmed cases and seven deaths. Espírito Santo had 6,323, Rio de Janeiro 2,500 and Minas Gerais 1,367. The UK recorded three imported cases in people who visited Brazil from February to April 2025.

There are no vaccines to prevent Oropouche and no medicines to treat it. Prevention is bite avoidance:

• Use a repellent labeled for biting flies or midges (Culicoides).
• Ordinary window screens may not stop midges. Fine 20x20 mesh works better.
• Use fans outdoors to blow midges away.
• Keep preventing bites for 3 weeks after you return.

Pregnant travelers should discuss the trip with a healthcare provider and follow the bite-prevention steps strictly during the trip and for 3 weeks after. In October 2026, the US travel notice covering Brazil for Oropouche was at Level 1, the lowest level.

Malaria

Malaria risk in Brazil is low and concentrated in the Amazon. Health agencies rate it in three bands:

Antimalarial tablets are advised only for special-risk groups in low-risk areas. Your clinic decides if you are in one.

Most cases are in nine states: Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins. Treatment is free at SUS units, and there is no malaria vaccine. If you get a fever during or after an Amazon trip, ask for a malaria test and mention where you traveled.

Rabies and other vaccines

Rabies is present in Brazil in domestic animals, and bats may carry rabies-like viruses. Pre-exposure vaccine is recommended for people at higher risk, including stays longer than one month. Do not touch stray dogs, cats, monkeys or bats, and wash any bite or scratch with soap and water before you seek care.

Other common recommendations:

Food, water and heat

Stomach upsets are the most common travel illness. Tap water is treated in big cities, but most Brazilians drink filtered or bottled water, and you should too. Ice in restaurants and juice bars in cities is usually made from filtered water.

Heat and sun cause more trouble than most diseases. Drink water often, wear a hat, and avoid long hikes in the middle of the day.

Methanol in drinks

In late 2025, Brazil had an outbreak of methanol poisoning from adulterated spirits, with 47 confirmed cases and nine deaths as of October 20, 2025, mostly in São Paulo state. Take extra care with spirits and cocktails. Buy sealed bottles from reputable shops, and avoid very cheap drinks of unknown origin. The is Brazil safe page covers drinks and spiking.

Getting care in Brazil

Seek medical care if fever, diarrhea, breathing symptoms or red spots appear during the trip or after you return. Tell the doctor where you traveled.

The CIVP, the international certificate of vaccination, is issued at Centros de Orientação ao Viajante when you show your vaccination card. The SUS offers the yellow fever vaccine to the whole population at public health posts.

Check before you go: if you plan to get the yellow fever vaccine in Brazil, ask at the local health post (UBS) whether it has stock and what documents it wants, and bring your passport. Get the dose at least 10 days before you reach a risk area.

Before you fly, check your travel insurance for Brazil covers treatment and evacuation. For hospitals and the SUS on a longer stay, see health care in Brazil for foreigners. Plan around the rainy season with the best time to visit Brazil.