Health requirements are the fastest-changing part of any border crossing. They follow the disease situation of the moment and are set by each country’s public-health authority. So this page does not list vaccines. It explains what kinds of requirement exist, what they depend on and whom to ask. Only what the health authority says on the date of your trip counts.
A requirement is not a recommendation
- A requirement is what a country demands before letting you in. It is checked at the border, and without it entry can be refused.
- A recommendation is medical advice for staying well in the area. Nobody checks it, yet it may matter more than the requirement.
There may be no requirement at all and several recommendations. You find them in different places: the requirement from the health authority or consulate of the country you are entering, the recommendation from your doctor or a travel clinic at home.
What requirements depend on
- Where you have been. Some countries look at the areas you visited before arriving, not just at your nationality.
- Country of residence. Rules may separate residents from visitors.
- Age. There are usually exceptions for infants, for older people or on medical grounds.
- Timing. An outbreak can bring in a requirement that did not exist a month earlier.
When a country asks for proof of a vaccine, the proof is an international certificate of vaccination. The familiar example in this region is yellow fever, on which countries have had requirements or recommendations at different times. Ask what applies now to your itinerary, including any country you fly home through.
The border region
North-eastern Argentina, eastern Paraguay and southern Brazil have a subtropical climate: heat, humidity and mosquitoes. Mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue occur here, so repellent and clothing that covers arms and legs belong in your bag for the falls. Ask a health professional what else suits your age and state of health.
Insurance and medicines
Some countries ask visitors to hold travel medical insurance. Even where it is not compulsory, crossing without cover means paying for any treatment yourself. Check that your policy is valid in all three countries if you plan to move between them.
If you take medication, carry it in its original packaging with the prescription or a doctor’s letter. Controlled medicines are subject to each country’s own rules, so ask before crossing with them.
How to prepare
- Ask the health authority of every country on your route, transit countries included.
- See a doctor weeks ahead, since some vaccines need time to take effect.
- Keep certificates together with your travel document.
- Check the requirements again a few days before you leave.
On a private transfer each passenger answers for their own certificates, just as for their passport. Other border subjects are in this section, and the routes are under transfers to Paraguay and to Brazil.