2026 World Cup Attended by 6 Million Fans, Health Teams on Alert to Prevent Epidemics

Thousands of fans packed stadiums at international soccer events. The 2026 World Cup will be one of the world's largest sporting events with strict oversight of the risk of infectious disease outbreaks. (Photo: X.COM/FIFAMEDIA)

JAKARTA - The 2026 World Cup is not just a matter of football. With more than six million people expected to move across Canada, Mexico, and the United States, health authorities are monitoring the potential for outbreaks of infectious diseases.

Euronews, quoted Tuesday, June 16, reported that the men's football tournament will be held from June 11 to July 19, 2026 in three countries. Large crowds in stadiums, cross-city travel, and fan transfers increase the risk of public health.

In Washington DC, Rebecca Katz from Georgetown University is leading the Health Security Operations Center. This non-governmental coordination team monitors infectious disease threats related to the tournament.

"Large-scale mass gatherings are complicated. There is always a threat of infectious disease associated with them," Katz told Euronews Health.

The team monitors disease signals in the host city, the traveler's home community, to online conversations about health issues. If there is a high risk, they can issue a health alert.

The challenge is not small. This World Cup is held in three countries and involves more than 48 jurisdictions, namely different jurisdictions or government authorities. This includes the location of national team camps and the movement of people between the areas.

"This mass meeting is very complicated because it involves three different countries and more than 48 jurisdictions," Katz said.

A number of diseases are monitored. Among them are sexually transmitted infections, gastrointestinal disorders, and respiratory infections. Diseases like this often appear in large events involving many people.

However, the main concern at the moment is measles. Katz said measles cases have been seen in the US, Canada, and Mexico. His team is carefully monitoring the situation as several reports have emerged in areas where national team matches or camps are located.

Other diseases on the radar are dengue fever, hepatitis A, and mpox. Mpox is a disease caused by a virus that can be transmitted through close contact with sufferers.

Ebola is also monitored, especially because the outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda are of global concern. The Congolese Ministry of Health has confirmed 782 cases and 181 deaths.

However, Katz said the risk of Ebola to the World Cup in the US is currently considered low. The reason is that the way Ebola is transmitted is different from respiratory diseases and a number of restrictions have been implemented.

The Democratic Republic of Congo squad arrived in Houston, Texas, on June 11 to undergo training camp before the first match against Portugal on June 17. According to a report from the Health Security Operations Center on June 12, all players and staff had no history of travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last 21 days.

One important tool used by the monitoring team is wastewater testing. The way, samples from the sewer are examined to look for early signs of disease spread in an area. This technology has been around for a long time, but its use has expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We see this technology as a very powerful source of surveillance data," Katz said.

For health authorities, a World Cup of this magnitude is not just about stadium readiness and fan safety. They also have to read the small signals before they turn into a big problem.