The World Health Organisation has come out with health advisories for national authorities and travellers to Brazil, the host of the forthcoming Olympics and Paralympic Games Rio de Janeiro.

Before departure, travellers should be advised about health risks in the areas they plan to visit (including the Zika virus) and take preventive practices and measures to minimize the probability of acquiring diseases and of having accidents. A medical consultation should be scheduled as early as possible before travel but at least 4–8 weeks before departure in order to allow sufficient time for immunization schedules to be completed for both routine vaccines and vaccines indicated according to the specific destinations.

Travellers should be vaccinated according to their national immunization schedule, which will vary from one country to another. Such routine immunization schedules include vaccination against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, measles, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b and, in many countries, additional diseases such as rubella, mumps, flu, yellow fever, human papillomavirus, and rotavirus and pneumococcal diseases.

Since July 2015, Brazil has interrupted measles transmission, following an outbreak associated with an imported case. As measles is still endemic or circulating in many countries, measles vaccinations should be up to date to prevent importation of the virus to Brazil.

Wild poliovirus has been eliminated from Brazil since 1989. To prevent the re-introduction of polio into Brazil, travellers from countries where polio cases have recently occurred should be fully immunized.

For travellers at risk of serious complications of influenza, vaccination should be considered. On mosquito-borne diseases, the WHO has advised pregnant women not to travel to the Olympics or any area where the Zika virus circulates.

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