Destination guide · Brazil
Brazil travel vaccines: yellow fever comes first
Carnival in Rio, Iguaçu, the Amazon or a Bahia beach: yellow fever vaccination now covers most of Brazil, and the certificate we issue in Timperley is valid for life.
The short answer
Do I need the yellow fever vaccine for a trip to Brazil?
For most trips, yes. TravelHealthPro recommends yellow fever vaccination from nine months of age for the great majority of Brazil, explicitly including Rio de Janeiro city, São Paulo city, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, the southern states, Iguaçu Falls, Brasília, the Pantanal and every Amazon state. The only places named as not recommended are the north-eastern cities of Fortaleza and Recife plus any area not on the list, with Bahia divided into designated areas. A Carnival week in Rio, then, is a yellow fever trip.
That is a real change from a decade ago, when the advice stopped at the Amazon and the interior. The outbreaks of 2016 to 2018 carried the virus into the forested hills behind the south-eastern coast and the map has not gone back; TravelHealthPro logged newly confirmed human cases in 2026, which is why this page carries a live outbreak feed.
The rest of the picture is mosquito-shaped. Dengue is countrywide and climbs in the first months of the year, Zika and chikungunya circulate too, and malaria is now classed as low risk even in the Amazon basin, so tablets are the exception. Add hepatitis A and typhoid, a tetanus check, and rabies for anyone heading somewhere remote. We go through your route state by state at our Timperley clinic on Stockport Road, and you leave with the certificate the same day.
Timing
Count back ten days for yellow fever, four weeks for rabies
The yellow fever certificate only becomes valid ten days after the injection, so that is the hard deadline for any Brazil trip: come in at least a fortnight before you fly and the paperwork is done, and because the certificate has been valid for life since 2016 you will not be asked for it again at a border — only a small number of travellers at continued risk are ever offered a reinforcing dose. If rabies is on your list the full course takes 28 days, so aim for five to six weeks ahead; with less time we can use a shorter schedule. Flying this week? Come in anyway: we are open until 9pm Monday to Saturday in Timperley and walk-ins are welcome.
Your Brazil list
Which vaccines does TravelHealthPro list for Brazil?
Nine appear on the UK guidance for Brazil; which apply depends on where in this enormous country you are going and for how long. The notes are Brazil-specific, and the final list is agreed at your appointment.
Yellow Fever (including certificate)
Yellow Fever
Recommended from nine months for Rio, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, the south, Brasília, Iguaçu and the Amazon states; not for Fortaleza or Recife. Brazil asks for no certificate on arrival from the UK, but several neighbours do; we issue the ICVP on the day.
Hepatitis A
Most travellers
Passed on through food, water and close contact; advised for practically every Brazilian trip, from a Copacabana kiosk to an Amazon lodge.
Typhoid
Most travellers
Listed for most travellers; the case is strongest on longer stays and wherever you eat well away from the tourist trail.
Tetanus, Diphtheria & Polio
Most travellers
Tetanus occurs worldwide. A booster is sensible if your last dose was over ten years ago, especially for trekking or remote areas.
Hepatitis B
Some travellers
Brazil has intermediate-to-high prevalence, so consider it for long stays, healthcare or volunteer work, contact sports, and anyone likely to need medical or dental treatment.
Rabies
Some travellers
Reported in domestic animals across Brazil, and bats may carry rabies-like viruses. Considered for stays of a month or more, remote travel, caving and animal work; three pre-travel doses.
Chikungunya
Some travellers
Brazil reported hundreds of thousands of chikungunya cases in 2025. UK-licensed vaccines exist from age 12; whether one suits you depends on age, health and destination, assessed individually.
Dengue
Some travellers
Circulates across Brazil, with case numbers usually rising in the first months of the year. The vaccine is only for travellers aged four and over with a previous laboratory-confirmed infection; everyone else relies on daytime bite avoidance.
Tuberculosis
Some travellers
Mainly a question for children under 16 who will live in Brazil for three months or more, and for healthcare or laboratory workers.
Entry rules — separate from your jabs
Yellow fever certificate: what Brazil requires
A yellow fever certificate requirement is a legal condition of entry — it is not the same thing as the vaccine being recommended for your health. The recommendation (when there is one) appears in the vaccine list above; the entry rule is below.
No yellow fever certificate is required to enter Brazil
Brazil does not ask arriving travellers for a yellow fever certificate, whatever your route.
Separately, yellow fever transmission does occur in parts of Brazil — so the vaccine itself may be advised for your health; see the vaccine list above and we'll confirm at your consultation.
Yellow fever, region by region
Which parts of Brazil need yellow fever vaccination?
The Amazon and the interior have always been yellow fever country. Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo joined the recommended zone after the 2016 to 2018 outbreaks and remain on it, as do Paraná with Iguaçu Falls, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. The north-east is the exception: Fortaleza and Recife are named as not recommended, unlisted areas fall outside the advice, and Bahia is split into designated areas we check against the live TravelHealthPro map. Brazil sets no certificate requirement for arrivals from the UK; the certificate matters for wherever you go next.
- Single dose, recommended from nine months of age
- Certificate valid from ten days after the injection, then for life
- Aged 60 or over, or pregnant or breastfeeding? A risk-benefit conversation, not an automatic no
- A weakened immune system usually rules out this live vaccine — tell us before you book so we can plan the trip around it
- £75 including the International Certificate, issued the same day
Dengue, Zika, chikungunya and Oropouche
Why is bite avoidance the biggest job in Brazil?
Because the viruses that actually reach visitors have no tablet to prevent them. Dengue is present right across Brazil, big cities included, and cases usually climb in the first months of the year, exactly when the Carnival crowds arrive. Chikungunya and Zika ride the same daytime-biting Aedes mosquitoes, and an Oropouche virus outbreak is ongoing. Malaria, by contrast, is rated low risk in the Amazon basin and Manaus, very low elsewhere and absent at Iguaçu, so for most itineraries the advice is bite avoidance rather than tablets.
- Repellent through the day: Aedes mosquitoes bite in daylight
- Feverish after Brazil? Avoid ibuprofen and aspirin until dengue is ruled out
- Pregnant or planning to be? Read the Zika answer in the FAQ first
- A fever up to a year after an Amazon trip needs a same-day malaria test
Rabies, including bats
Do I need the rabies vaccine for Brazil?
Not for a city break, but it moves up the list quickly once your plans involve the Amazon, the Pantanal, caving, long cycling days or volunteering with animals. Rabies has been reported in domestic animals across Brazil, and bats may carry rabies-like viruses; a bat scratch can be too small to notice. The course is three doses, normally over 28 days, with a shorter schedule when time is tight. It does not make you invincible: any bite, scratch or lick still means soap, water and urgent medical help, but the course simplifies that treatment when the nearest clinic is a boat ride away.
- Three doses at £75 each, spread over about four weeks
- Worth it for stays of a month or more, remote travel and animal contact
- Never handle bats, however sleepy or grounded they look
- Vaccinated or not, seek urgent care after any animal contact
FAQ
Brazil travel health: your questions answered
Off to Brazil? Get the certificate sorted in one visit
We’re a registered Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre at 250 Stockport Road, Timperley, two Metrolink stops from Altrincham with free parking. One visit covers the yellow fever jab and certificate, hepatitis A, typhoid and rabies, plus straight advice on dengue, Zika and the Amazon. Open until 9pm Monday to Saturday and 6pm on Sundays; call +44 161 948 5066 or book online.