Brazil Health

Health

It is probably best to avoid the food peddled by vendors on the beach (before you buy any food from them, take a look at their hygiene and cleanliness). A sanduíche natural (natural sandwich) may or may not be organic as represented, but if you buy one late in the day a tummy-ache or worse is a likely result. Food and drink in formal restaurants is safe, excellent, and inexpensive.

If you are going to rent a flat and live on your own, store perishable foodstuffs with extra care, as the hot climate can make them rot quite soon.

Only buy closed drinks sold from street vendors (like cans and bottles). Always use a straw or rinse the drink container with fresh water, because the water used to cool the drinks is sometimes not fit for consumption. Unless you have been in the country for a few weeks or more, avoid all ice in drinks. Mineral water is normally safe. The quality of tap water, on the other hand, may vary from place to place (from contaminated, saline or soaked with chlorine to plain drinkable) and Brazilians themselves usually prefer to have it filtered.

Vaccination against yellow fever and taking anti-malaria medication may be necessary if you are traveling to central-western (Mato Grosso) or northern (Amazon) regions. If you're arriving from Peru, Colombia or Bolivia, the vaccination of yellow fever is required (i.e. you cannot leave these countries if your destination is Brazil without your vaccination card). Some countries, such as Australia and South Africa, will require evidence of yellow fever vaccination before allowing you entry if you have been in any part of Brazil within the previous week. Check the requirements of any country you will travel to after Brazil.

If you get ill do not look for help in public hospitals, which tend to be crowded and not too good. In most cities of at least 60,000 inhabitants good healthcare is available at a fair price.

Dentists abound and are very cheap (so cheap indeed that people come from other countries to treat their teeth there). However, the quality of their work is not always the same. Absolutely don't trust 'popular dentists'.

The emergency number is 190, but you must speak Portuguese.

[ World Health Orginisation ]

[ Hospital of Tropical Diseases ]