US and Canada to Monitor Wastewater and Social Media for Disease Outbreaks During 2026 World Cup

Jun 7, 2026

Ahead of the 2026 World Cup, the U.S. and Canada will monitor wastewater and social media in host cities to detect disease outbreaks among the 6.5 million expected fans. A Georgetown University-led team will track threats including a record U.S. measles surge, an Ebola outbreak in Africa, and mosquito-borne illnesses like dengue. The effort aims to provide early warnings to public health officials and FIFA.

2026 World Cup disease surveillance

▪The project will also serve as a trial run for monitoring future events, including the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
▪Social media monitoring will be used to track information pointing to transmission clusters.
▪The 39-day tournament is expected to attract over 6.5 million fans from more than 100 countries to 104 matches across the US, Canada, and Mexico.
▪A public health team will monitor sewage and social media in US and Canadian host cities for disease outbreaks during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
▪The surveillance effort uses advanced wastewater analysis with DNA and RNA sequencing to identify genetic material from microbes.

Ebola travel restrictions

▪The risk of Ebola to the general public in North America is considered very low as the virus spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids.
▪No approved vaccines, rapid diagnostic tests, or treatments exist for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.
▪An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, caused by the Bundibugyo strain, was declared a global health emergency in May 2026.
▪The World Cup team and staff from the Democratic Republic of Congo underwent a precautionary quarantine in Belgium.
▪The U.S. has banned entry for non-U.S. citizens who have been in affected African countries in the past 21 days and is screening passengers from those areas.

Measles respiratory infection surge

▪Measles is a primary concern, with U.S. cases approaching a record 2,000 in 2026 as of early June.
▪Other respiratory infections of concern include the flu, which saw a 30-year high in the 2025–2026 season, and COVID-19.
▪A single infectious traveler at Denver International Airport in 2025 triggered a measles outbreak of at least 10 cases, demonstrating the virus's contagiousness.

Mosquito-borne disease threats

▪Mosquito-borne diseases like dengue and chikungunya pose a risk, particularly in southern U.S. and Mexican host cities.
▪Oropouche virus, another mosquito-borne illness, saw its largest-ever epidemic in Latin America in 2024, with over 8,000 confirmed cases in Brazil.
▪The U.S. set a record for dengue cases in 2024 with nearly 3,800, a 359% increase over the prior 14-year average.

Sexually transmitted infection risks

▪Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a potential risk, as one study found about 1 in 5 international travelers engages in casual sex.
▪Mpox continues to circulate in the U.S. and is a particular concern at large public events.

Public health monitoring efforts

▪A team led by Georgetown University's Center for Global Health Science and Security has established an epidemiological command post for the surveillance effort.
▪The operations center is a collaboration involving academic institutions, non-profits like MedStar Health, and private companies.