Health Team to Monitor Wastewater, Social Media at World Cup for Outbreak Detection

Public health specialists have launched a dedicated surveillance operation to detect infectious disease threats early during the 2026 World Cup by analyzing wastewater samples and monitoring online chatter.

The 39-day tournament begins on Thursday in Mexico. Organizers estimate more than 6.5 million soccer fans from more than 100 countries will attend 104 matches spread across venues throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The global travel of a worldwide audience to packed stadiums across North America creates conditions for the rapid transmission of pathogens, according to health security experts. The United States will host 78 of the 104 matches.

A team led by Rebecca Katz, director of Georgetown University’s Center for Global Health Science and Security in Washington, has transformed a university laboratory into an epidemiological command center. The facility pools resources from academic institutions, nonprofit groups, and private companies to support government agencies.

The group already publishes daily status reports that flag emerging risks for hospital emergency managers and public health authorities at local, state, federal, and international levels, as well as for FIFA, soccer’s governing body.

In advanced wastewater analysis, researchers use DNA and RNA sequencing to identify genetic strands from microbes in sewage, without first requiring the growing of cultures in a laboratory setting.

“It’s incredibly powerful,” Katz said.

Collection sites in the United States and Canada, together with additional monitoring across the three host countries, already supply data to the team, with the potential to catch an outbreak in its early stages, giving clinicians time to watch for specific symptoms that might otherwise go unrecognized and allowing public health officials to issue timely precautions.

The operation also incorporates social listening tools. Staff members analyze anonymized electronic health record data and scan open social media platforms for signs of illness clusters. Katz noted one earlier case in which officials flagged a gastrointestinal outbreak after noticing a sudden increase in online conversations about toilet paper purchases.

The systems include new layers of aerial and ground monitoring over fans and public spaces for the duration of the event.

Measles is high on the priority watch list. U.S. case counts this year are approaching record territory, with approximately 2,000 reported so far. The highly contagious virus has also resurged in parts of Mexico and Canada.

Mosquito-borne illnesses like dengue, also known as breakbone fever, as well as its close relative chikungunya heighten the level of concern. Infected travelers could bring these tropical diseases to local mosquito populations in host cities.

An Ebola outbreak persists in Congo, which has been at the center of the current crisis in Africa. Katz said the often-fatal hemorrhagic fever holds a “very low risk to the general public” in North America. World Cup players and support staff from Congo completed a precautionary quarantine in Belgium ahead of traveling to the United States.

The new surveillance network comes as U.S. public health officials continue their work to manage risks from multiple outbreaks, including measles, Ebola, and hantavirus.

Reuters contributed to this report.