World Cup Brings Broader Health Concerns

The FIFA World Cup is set to kick off.

Global health officials are preparing for a high-stakes challenge of their own: protecting against infectious diseases. The tournament will span 16 host cities across three countries — the United States, Canada, and Mexico — and feature 48 teams, making it the largest World Cup in history. The risk of widespread Ebola transmission during the tournament is low, according to infectious disease experts, including Dr. Shruti Gohil, the associate medical director for University of California, Irvine Health Epidemiology and Infection Prevention.

Instead, experts say more contagious threats could pose greater challenges during the tournament, particularly because international visitors could move through multiple venues and cities in a matter of days. Those threats include measles — one of the world’s most contagious diseases — as well as respiratory viruses such as Covid-19 and influenza. They also pointed to arboviruses spread by infected insects, such as dengue, while others highlighted heat-related and foodborne illnesses as notable risks beyond infectious diseases.

Preparing for the World Cup has involved scaling up existing programs, such as wastewater monitoring, and adding new tools to track infectious disease threats. Public health officials say they are ready to take on the challenge. Dr. Theresa Tran, director for the Houston Health Department, said that public health prides itself in being the invisible shield, but she doesn’t want that to get lost in the actual effort it takes to have an operational invisible shield.

Global health authorities have confirmed more than 260 cases and are investigating 1,100 more possible infections in Congo and Uganda. The current strain of Ebola, the Bundibugyo virus, is an often fatal form of the disease with no approved treatment or vaccine. According to the World Health Organization, virus transmission requires direct, close contact with the bodily fluids or blood of someone who is already showing symptoms.

Patients with Ebola are going to be very sick and will likely stay at home or in the hospital rather than attend large events with other people, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, adjunct assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has implemented enhanced entry measures for travelers from countries linked to the outbreak.

During those screenings, CDC staff will survey individuals about their travel history and symptoms, check their temperatures and collect contact information for follow-ups by state and local public authorities if needed. The agency’s website says individuals are also monitored for Ebola’s full incubation period of 21 days, not only the day they arrive in the U.S. In Dallas County, Texas, the health department has coordinated with emergency responders and local hospitals to ensure any traveler who develops Ebola symptoms can be safely transported and treated.

Measles is a major concern in terms of infectious diseases at the World Cup since it is one of the most contagious viruses, said James Garrow, communications director for Philadelphia’s Department of Public Health. The U.S. had more measles cases in 2025 than in any other year since 1991, with more than 2,100 confirmed cases. The public health efforts are in place to address this issue.

Besides measles, Dr. Theresa Tran said she’s concerned about other diseases at risk of higher spread as vaccination rates drop in the U.S., such as Covid and the flu. Norovirus, food-borne and heat-related illnesses as well as sexually transmitted infectious could also pose challenges during the tournament.

This year’s World Cup brings added layers of challenges, and not only because of the scale of the event, said Dr. Rebecca Katz, who leads Georgetown University’s Center for Global Health Science and Security. Despite the cuts, the CDC said it is actively engaged in World Cup preparedness as part of the federal coordination structure led by the White House FIFA World Cup 2026 Task Force.