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Travel health · Brazil

Braziltravel vaccines & health advice · from Calgary

Rio, the Amazon, the Pantanal and the falls. One country the size of a continent, and yellow fever is the thing to sort first because it is the one with a deadline.

The short version

Most travellers to Brazil need 4 vaccines, and six weeks is enough time to do it properly.

Leaving sooner? Most of it can still be done — we prioritise what matters for your route. Nobody gets turned away for booking late.

What you’ll need

Recommended for essentially everyone going to Brazil.

  1. Yellow fever

    CDC recommends it for travellers aged nine months and over to most Brazilian states — Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Brasília and much of the coast among them — and does not recommend it for Fortaleza or Recife. The Government of Canada says vaccination is recommended depending on your itinerary. Neither says it is required to enter Brazil. It is the one with a lead time, so it is the one to raise first.

    The certificate becomes valid ten days after the dose. We are a designated Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre, so it is given here and the certificate is issued here — but it is still the one to book first.

  2. Hepatitis A

    Food and water, and both sources agree without qualification: CDC for unvaccinated travellers aged one and over, the Government of Canada for all travellers to areas where hepatitis A is present.

    Any time before you fly. One dose covers the trip; a second, six months later, covers decades.

  3. Hepatitis B

    Blood and bodily fluids — medical or dental care abroad, tattoos, piercings, unplanned injuries. CDC recommends it for unvaccinated travellers under 60; the Government of Canada for all travellers. Many Canadians already have it from the school programme, so we check.

    The standard course runs over months. Faster schedules exist — bring your dates.

  4. Routine vaccines, brought up to date

    Tetanus, measles-mumps-rubella, polio, diphtheria, chickenpox. CDC asks all international travellers to be fully vaccinated against measles, and everyone to be current on routine vaccines before every trip.

    Tetanus if it has been more than ten years — which for most adults it has.

When do you leave?

The honest answer to “am I too late?” depends on the date. Put yours in and we’ll work backwards. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Depends on your trip

Worth a conversation — the answer changes with where you’re going and what you’ll be doing.

  • TyphoidCDC recommends it for most travellers, especially anyone staying with friends or relatives; Canada is looser
  • Malaria tabletsthe Amazon states — not Rio, São Paulo, Brasília or Iguaçu Falls
  • Rabiesbats matter here as much as dogs; the Government of Canada names children specifically
  • Chikungunya vaccineapproved in Canada, and there has been a large outbreak in Mato Grosso do Sul

Every vaccine, and whether you need it

The full list for Brazil. Most people need the first two or three; the rest depend on where you are going and for how long.

Yellow feverAlmost everyone

CDC recommends yellow fever vaccination for travellers aged nine months and over going to most Brazilian states, listing Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Brasília and coastal areas among them, and does not recommend it for Fortaleza or Recife. The Government of Canada says vaccination is recommended depending on your itinerary and advises contacting a designated Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre well in advance. We are one — the vaccine and the international certificate are both available here in Sunpark Plaza. Proof of vaccination is not required to enter Brazil, and the certificate becomes valid ten days after the dose.

Hepatitis AAlmost everyone

Spread through contaminated food and water. CDC recommends it for unvaccinated travellers aged one year and over; the Government of Canada for all travellers to areas where hepatitis A is present. One of the few points on which the two sources need no reconciling.

Hepatitis BAlmost everyone

Spread through blood and bodily fluids. CDC recommends it for unvaccinated travellers younger than 60; the Government of Canada recommends it for all travellers. Many Canadians already have it from the routine school programme, so we look before we offer.

Routine vaccines (Tdap, MMR, polio, varicella)Almost everyone

CDC asks travellers to be up to date on routine vaccines before every trip, and asks all international travellers to be fully vaccinated against measles. Tetanus is the one that lapses quietly.

TyphoidUsually recommended

CDC recommends it for most travellers to Brazil, especially those staying with friends or relatives. The Government of Canada is looser — a vaccine is available and may be recommended for some travellers, particularly where sanitation and clean water are limited. For an Amazon or north-eastern itinerary our pharmacist lands closer to CDC.

COVID-19Usually recommended

CDC advises all eligible travellers to be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines.

RabiesDepends on your trip

CDC recommends pre-exposure vaccination for people whose work or activities raise their animal exposure. The Government of Canada names children, adventure travellers, veterinarians and wildlife workers, and anyone in close contact with animals. Bats deserve a mention of their own here: a bat bite can be small enough to miss, and any contact counts.

ChikungunyaDepends on your trip

The Government of Canada notes a chikungunya vaccine approved in Canada and reports a large outbreak in the region of Mato Grosso do Sul. CDC is narrower, saying it may be considered for stays of roughly six months or more. If Mato Grosso do Sul or the Pantanal is on your route, this is worth raising.

What to actually watch out for

Honest about the risks, and specific about what prevents each one.

Dengue

Widespread and carried by daytime-biting mosquitoes, so evening-only precautions miss it. The Government of Canada notes there is no vaccine or medication available in Canada to prevent it.

Prevention Repellent through the day, reapplied. Air-conditioned or screened rooms.

Oropouche

Named by the Government of Canada as a risk in Brazil. Spread by the bite of an infected small fly rather than a mosquito, and there is no vaccine or medication that protects against it.

Prevention Fine-mesh screens or air conditioning — biting midges pass straight through standard mosquito netting. Repellent on exposed skin at dawn and dusk.

Zika

Present in Brazil. Spread mainly by mosquito bite but also sexually, and it can cause serious birth defects.

Prevention If you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, this deserves a conversation before you book rather than after.

Crime and personal safety

CDC names crime among the risks for travellers here, and the Government of Canada cites high crime rates and gang-related violence in urban areas as the reason for its overall advisory.

Prevention Nothing a pharmacy dispenses. Plan routes in daylight, keep valuables out of sight, and read the regional advisories before booking a tour.

Traffic

Motor vehicle crashes are among the named risks. Long-distance road travel at night in particular.

Prevention App-based cars over self-driving, and daylight over night on intercity roads.

Traveller’s diarrhoea

Contaminated food, water and ice, as everywhere. Less likely than in South Asia but far from rare.

Prevention Bottled or boiled water, ice you trust, food cooked fresh and hot. Rehydration salts weigh nothing.

Rabies

Present in dogs and wildlife. Bats are the exposure people underestimate — a bite can be too small to notice, and cave visits and jungle lodges both count.

Prevention Never handle a bat, awake or apparently dead. Any bite, scratch or contact: wash for a full fifteen minutes and get medical advice the same day.

Malaria in Brazil

Prevented with tablets rather than a vaccine, and only needed for some routes — which is why the answer depends on your itinerary.

Where the risk is

Risk in ALL areas of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Rondônia and Roraima, per CDC. Malaria is also present in the states of Maranhão, Mato Grosso and Pará, with only rare cases in their capitals (São Luís, Cuiabá, Belém). CDC additionally reports rare cases and sporadic foci in rural and forested parts of Espírito Santo, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Piauí, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Tocantins — which is where the Pantanal sits. NO transmission in the cities of Brasília, Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo, or at Iguaçu Falls.

What we would prescribe

For the Amazon states, CDC lists atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, mefloquine and tafenoquine. Which suits you depends on your dates, your other medications and how much sun you will be in — doxycycline and equatorial sun are an uncomfortable pairing. The Government of Canada frames it as depending on itinerary and season, which is another way of saying: bring your route.

Staying well while you’re there

The things that prevent most travel illness are not medical.

Before you book

  • Raise yellow fever first — the certificate is valid ten days after the dose
  • Bring the whole itinerary, not just Brazil, if you are travelling onward
  • Check the regional advisories against your route
  • Tell us if the Amazon is on the plan
  • Six weeks is comfortable; less is workable

Biting insects, day and night

  • DEET 20%+ or picaridin, reapplied through the day
  • Dengue mosquitoes bite in daylight
  • Oropouche midges pass through ordinary netting — use fine mesh or air conditioning
  • Long sleeves at dawn and dusk
  • Permethrin-treated clothing for the Amazon and the Pantanal

Food and water

  • Bottled or boiled water where the supply is uncertain
  • Ice only where you trust the kitchen
  • Freshly cooked and hot over lukewarm and displayed
  • Peel fruit yourself
  • Rehydration salts in the bag

Animals

  • Never handle a bat, alive or dead
  • No touching street dogs or monkeys
  • Wash any bite or scratch for a full fifteen minutes
  • Same-day medical advice, vaccinated or not
  • Tell us about caves and jungle lodges — they change the rabies conversation

Worth knowing

Yellow fever is the one with a deadline

The certificate does not count until ten days after the dose, and the vaccine is only given at designated yellow fever vaccination centres — so it cannot be handled the week before you fly the way a hepatitis A shot can. CDC recommends it for travellers aged nine months and over to most Brazilian states — and the list names the places people actually go: Rio de Janeiro including the city and its coastal islands, São Paulo including the city, Brasília, Minas Gerais, the Amazon states, and Iguaçu Falls specifically. It does not recommend it for travel limited to areas off that list, naming Fortaleza and Recife. Neither CDC nor the Government of Canada says Brazil requires proof to enter. But onward travel can: several countries ask for a certificate from anyone arriving from Brazil. If Brazil is one stop on a longer trip, bring the whole itinerary.

Malaria is an Amazon question, not a Brazil question

CDC puts malaria risk in all areas of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Rondônia and Roraima, and in the states of Maranhão, Mato Grosso and Pará with only rare cases in their capitals. It also reports rare cases and sporadic foci in rural and forested parts of eight more states, Mato Grosso do Sul among them — so the Pantanal is a question, not a given no. There is no transmission in the cities of Brasília, Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo, or at Iguaçu Falls. A Rio-and-the-falls holiday and an Amazon or Pantanal trip are genuinely different conversations. Where tablets are needed, CDC lists atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, mefloquine and tafenoquine.

Two mosquito-borne illnesses with no vaccine and no treatment

Dengue is widespread, and the Government of Canada notes there is no vaccine or medication available in Canada to prevent it. Oropouche — spread by biting midges rather than mosquitoes, so it slips past the usual precautions — is also named as a risk, with nothing available to prevent it either. Both make the unglamorous advice the important advice: repellent through the day, long sleeves at dusk, and a fine-mesh screen or air conditioning where you sleep. Midges get through ordinary mosquito netting.

The advisories here are about crime, not germs

The Government of Canada advises a high degree of caution overall, citing high crime rates and gang-related violence in urban areas. It advises against all travel to the Complexo da Maré and Complexo da Penha favelas in Rio, and against non-essential travel within 20 to 50 km of most of Brazil’s land borders. None of that changes your vaccines, but it should change how you plan the days — and it is worth reading before you book a favela tour.

Bringing the family

Most people booking a travel consult with us are sorting out a household, not just themselves. A few things are different for children.

One appointment can cover everyone

Bring the whole household to the same consultation. We review each person’s records separately but plan the trip as one, which usually means fewer visits and no repeated explanations. Tell us how many people when you book so we set aside the time.

Yellow fever starts at nine months

CDC recommends yellow fever vaccination from nine months of age for the Brazilian states where it applies. Below that age it is a conversation about the itinerary rather than the vaccine — sometimes the answer is to change where you go, not what you have.

Hepatitis A starts at twelve months

CDC recommends it for unvaccinated travellers aged one year and over. Infants aged 6 to 11 months can be given a travel dose, which does not count towards the routine schedule and is repeated later.

Rabies is the one that changes for children

The Government of Canada lists children among those at higher risk of rabies exposure. Small children approach animals, are less likely to mention a scratch, and are more often bitten on the face or hands. Worth discussing per child rather than per family.

Bring what you have, not what you think we need

Any immunisation records you can find, for each traveller. Alberta records we can often look up; out-of-province and overseas records we cannot. A photo of a yellow card is plenty.

Common questions

Do I need yellow fever vaccination for Brazil?

For most itineraries, yes — including the ones people assume are exempt. CDC recommends it for travellers aged nine months and over to most Brazilian states, and the list explicitly includes the city of Rio de Janeiro, the city of São Paulo, Brasília and Iguaçu Falls. It does not recommend it for travel limited to areas off that list, naming Fortaleza and Recife. The Government of Canada says it is recommended depending on your itinerary. Neither says Brazil requires it to enter. Raise it early — the certificate only becomes valid ten days after the dose. Yellow fever is not given at just any pharmacy; it needs a designated centre, and we are one, so you can have it in the same visit as everything else.

Will I be asked for a yellow fever certificate at the airport?

Not to enter Brazil — proof is not required. The catch is onward travel: some countries ask for a certificate from anyone arriving from a country with yellow fever risk, and Brazil is one. If Brazil is a stop on a longer trip, bring the whole route so we can check where the certificate actually matters.

Do I need malaria tablets for Rio and Iguaçu Falls?

Not for those two. CDC reports no malaria transmission in the cities of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo or Brasília, or at Iguaçu Falls. But "not the Amazon" is not the same as "no tablets": beyond Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Rondônia and Roraima, CDC also puts malaria in the states of Maranhão, Mato Grosso and Pará, and reports sporadic foci in rural and forested parts of eight others including Mato Grosso do Sul — the Pantanal. Tell us where you are actually going rather than which region it is called.

What is Oropouche, and should I worry about it?

It is a virus the Government of Canada now names as a risk in Brazil, spread by biting midges rather than mosquitoes. There is no vaccine and no medication for it. The practical difference is the netting: midges get through standard mosquito mesh, so fine mesh or air conditioning is what actually helps. Worth knowing about; not worth cancelling over.

Is Brazil safe?

That is a fair question and the honest answer is not a health one. The Government of Canada advises a high degree of caution overall because of high crime rates and gang violence in urban areas, advises against all travel to two named Rio favelas, and against non-essential travel near most land borders. Plenty of Canadians travel there happily every year. Read the advisory against your specific plans rather than the country as a whole.

I am leaving in two weeks. Have I missed the boat on yellow fever?

Not necessarily — the certificate needs ten days, so two weeks still works if we move now. Tell us today rather than next week. Hepatitis A can be given right up to departure, and a tetanus booster the same day you come in.

Can my children come to the same appointment?

Yes, and most families do. Yellow fever vaccine is recommended from nine months of age for the areas where it applies, and hepatitis A from twelve months. We review each person’s records separately but plan the trip as one visit — tell us how many are travelling when you book.

How much does the consultation cost?

Nothing. The travel consultation is free — a full itinerary review, every recommended vaccine discussed, and advice for your particular trip. You pay only for the vaccines actually given.

Designated Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre

We are licensed to give yellow fever vaccine and issue the international certificate, here in Sunpark Plaza — you do not need to find another clinic for it. The certificate becomes valid ten days after the dose, so this is the one to book first. Whether your itinerary actually needs it is the conversation we have at the appointment.

Sort it in one visit

Bring your travel dates. A pharmacist will go through what you need for Brazil, give what can be given that day, and book anything that needs a second dose. No doctor referral, no wait list.

Book a travel consult for Brazil403-910-3990

Written from current CDC and Government of Canada guidance, checked 30 July 2026. Advice for your particular trip comes from our pharmacist, in person.

Imagine Health Pharmacy & Travel Clinic — #4120, 15 Sunpark Plaza SE, Calgary, Alberta. In Sunpark Plaza, off Macleod Trail, serving Sundance, Midnapore, Shawnessy, Chaparral and the rest of south Calgary.

No doctor’s referral is needed. In Alberta a pharmacist can assess you, prescribe what your trip needs and give the vaccines in the same visit — so for most travellers this is one appointment, not a clinic queue and then a pharmacy.

Where this comes from

The vaccine guidance on this page follows the official recommendations below, read and applied by a pharmacist. Where the two differ we say so rather than pick one.

Checked against both sources on 30 July 2026. Official advice changes — if your trip is months away, check again or ask us.

Travelling to Brazil?Free consultation · no referral needed
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