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Brazil Public Health
You need to be aware that there are a number of health issues and serious health risks in Brasil, for which you will need to take precautions prior to your Brazil travel northeast. This means that you will need to protect yourself on several important levels.
A variety of tropical diseases and illnesses can be contracted in Brasil, including cholera. Owing to the high prevalence of yellow fever, dengue fever and malaria in urban areas and the Amazon regions respectively, you must ensure you check with your doctor with a view to getting the appropriate advice, anti- malaria medication and vaccinations before you travel to Brazil.
It wasn't so long ago that Brazil issued travel health warnings, advising tourists to get vaccinated against yellow fever, due to the high incidence of people contracting it.
Although there is government funded public health care in Brazil, under the Sistema Unico de Saude (SUS) programme which anyone can access at (SUS) designated hospitals, medical care in these hospitals are less than adequate.
With no prior GP referrals needed to get treatment and with (SUS) hospital programms being very poorly funded, extremely heavy demands on the Brazil public health care sector, make this avenue of medical treatment extremely over-crowded and near enough inaccessible should you be in need of treatment.
There is also a government funded ambulance service - Servico de Assistencia Medica Urgente (SAMU), however, because under Brazilian law only doctors or physicians are allowed to carry out advance life support, there are no paramedics service to provide more involved life support procedures.
In addition to the Brazil public health care system, there is an extensive network of good, private medical and dental health care provision and for people who hold health insurance. There is also private cosmetic surgery, which is a major industry in Brazil.
In some instances, you will find that both public and private health care facilities are within the same hospital building. The private health care sector is also supported by a private ambulance service.
Unless you take out travel health insurance prior to your Brazil travel northeast, in the event you should you need medical treatment, you could find that private healthcare costs can soon spiral out of control depending on the nature of treatment required. This can prove especially costly if you are used to state-subsidised healthcare in your own country.
This is all the more reason why you should ensure you have adequate insurance health cover for medical treatment and emergencies, prior to your travel to Brazil and not merely rely on Brazil health care. Although private Brazil health care costs can be high, drugs on the other hand are relatively inexpensive.
Travel health insurance
Brazil travel requirement
Brazil health and private health care
Brazil dentists
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