Health Officials on Alert During World Cup

While millions of soccer fans are enjoying the World Cup matches across North America, health officials are staying vigilant for potential health risks. Although a heat wave is one obvious concern, it’s the risk of infectious diseases spreading in large crowds that has experts paying close attention. They will be monitoring various sources—like wastewater, hospital admissions, and even social media—for indications that an outbreak could be unfolding. Measles, known for being highly contagious, is one of the biggest worries, prompting a recent warning from the Pan American Health Organization. With nearly six weeks filled with packed stadiums, bars, and tourist attractions in 16 cities, authorities are keeping an eye on a range of infections, from norovirus to mosquito-borne dengue fever.

“This is truly a marathon,” commented Palak Raval-Nelson, the health commissioner of Philadelphia. The timing is challenging for health agencies across the U.S., especially given the ongoing constraints on budgets. The CDC, already impacted by staffing cuts from the previous administration, is also dealing with a growing Ebola situation in Central Africa and a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship. Though CDC officials are advising local health departments, the anticipated disease surveillance dashboard for the World Cup was still “in final development” mere days before the matches began, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Public health professionals are feeling the strain, as noted by global health specialist Rebecca Katz, who is helping lead a new initiative. At the Health Security Operations Center, a collaboration between Georgetown University and MedStar Health, employees are reviewing data from across the nation. This data will help alert health authorities and emergency rooms to early signs of problems. The center is producing daily reports on disease trends from host cities and team training sites, sharing them with local and federal health groups, hospital officials, and others who have opted to receive this information.

Certain viral or bacterial infections can shed genetic material that advanced wastewater testing can detect, acting as an early warning mechanism. For example, traces of measles could show up in wastewater days before a patient arrives at an emergency room. Katz’s center recently reported that wastewater testing has detected rotavirus, hepatitis A, and norovirus in various regions of the U.S. Additionally, in Dallas, a team is enhancing mosquito testing—not just for the regularly occurring West Nile virus, but also for diseases more typically found in other countries, such as dengue and chikungunya. “It’s essential that we don’t create unnecessary panic,” stated Dr. Shane Kappler of MedStar. “We’re aiming to be an insurance policy.”