US Health Experts to Screen Wastewater for Diseases During 2026 World Cup

Health experts in the United States will screen wastewater for infectious diseases throughout the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The effort aims to detect threats early during one of the largest global mass gatherings.

A team based in Washington, D.C., will analyse sewage samples from host cities in the US and Canada. They will combine this with monitoring of internet chatter to track potential outbreaks.

The tournament begins in Mexico on Thursday. It runs for 39 days and features 104 matches across the three host nations. More than 6.5 million fans from over 100 countries are expected to attend.

Measles, Ebola and mosquito-borne illnesses head the watch list. The scale of international travel raises risks of rapid disease spread.

Rebecca Katz directs the surveillance project. She heads Georgetown University's Center for Global Health Science and Security. Her team has turned a university laboratory into an epidemiological command post.

The centre brings together academics, non-profits and private firms. It supports government agencies with real-time data. Daily reports will reach hospital emergency managers, public health officials and FIFA.

Advanced wastewater analysis uses DNA and RNA sequencing. It identifies genetic material from microbes without needing to culture them in a lab. Katz called the method incredibly powerful. Her group already receives data from collection sites across the host countries.

Detecting pathogens in sewage can flag an outbreak before it grows. Officials can then alert clinicians and advise the public on precautions. This approach gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic and now serves major events.

Ebola has drawn attention because of the outbreak in Africa. Katz noted the risk to the general public in North America remains very low. Congo's World Cup delegation underwent precautionary quarantine in Belgium.

Measles cases in the US near record levels this year, around 2,000 so far. Resurgences appear in parts of Mexico and Canada as well. Mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya also pose risks through infected travellers.

The operations centre collaborates with MedStar Health, which runs one of the country's 13 biocontainment units. It will also test systems for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Katz pulled together 20 colleagues plus pro bono help from 30 entities. Several wastewater surveillance companies supply free sample collection and data.

Other tools include anonymised electronic health records and open-source social media analysis. One earlier success identified a gastrointestinal outbreak through spikes in online mentions of toilet paper sales.

The Georgetown team supplements efforts by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies. Budget and staffing pressures at public health bodies add urgency to the initiative.

Funding comes from a small family foundation, Georgetown University and in-kind contributions. The approach reflects lessons from past global events where crowded venues and travel tested health systems.

For the World Cup, continuous monitoring at stadiums, fan zones and transport hubs could limit transmission. Early warnings help balance the excitement of the tournament with public safety needs.

As matches get underway, the command post will operate around the clock. Its performance may influence how future large events handle health surveillance.