Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Western travelers are not required by law to have any vaccinations to enter Peru. However, for your own safety, you will want to contact your physician or a reputable clinic that specializes in travel medicine several weeks before you go, and arrange for some inoculations.
Make sure your polio and tetanus shots are up-to-date. This is just common sense when traveling anywhere that might still have active polio outbreaks. While polio has essentially been wiped out in the U.S., there are still outbreaks in developing countries such as Peru.
Tetanus protects you in the event that you are injured by a deep cut, puncture or animal bite. Of course, if you are bitten, you will want to immediately seek medical help to address the possibility of rabies, no matter where you are. If you plan to spend a lot of time hiking or camping, talk to your doctor about getting a rabies vaccination as well before you leave.
Also get vaccinated against hepatitis A and typhoid. The typhoid vaccine is taken orally in two doses, so make sure you leave time for the second dose before you go.
If you are planning to travel in the Amazon jungle, get vaccinated against yellow fever, and make sure you carry malaria pills. Yellow fever outbreaks come on suddenly, and if you can't produce proof that you've been vaccinated already, Peruvian health officials will require that you get the vaccination as soon as you arrive in the jungle. A yellow fever certificate is good for 10 years from date of issue.
Many of the most popular tourist areas in Peru are at elevations of 10,000 feet or more. Ask your doctor to prescribe Diamox or another related treatment, and start taking it at the first signs of altitude sickness. You might want to treat altitude sickness the way the locals do, by drinking coca tea and chewing the coca leaves, but this is not effective for all travelers. Better to have the Diamox with you than be forced to miss out on the High Andes due to altitude sickness.
If you are planning to travel to the Upper Amazon, get vaccinated against hepatitis B as well, as there have been outbreaks in some remote areas. Hepatitis B vaccinations are given in a series of three injections over a six-month period, so start planning early.
If you don't have a regular physician, or if your physician is not knowledgeable about Peruvian travel, the Travel Clinic Locator (see Resources, below) can direct you to a clinic near you. Staffed by professionals with expertise in travel medicine, they can give you more information about what to expect before you go and assist you with any travel-related health problems you might bring home with you.
If you are planning to volunteer as a health worker or missionary in any remote areas of Peru, you will want to make sure you are inoculated against all of the possible diseases, including yellow fever and hepatitis B. Check with your physician or a travel clinic at least six months before you leave to make sure you have time to receive the full series of inocculations.