Security for the World Cup is getting an update: scouring wastewater and social media to keep close tabs on infectious disease transmission during the international event.
The goal is to prevent severe illness during the World Cup, the biggest sporting event in the world set to draw 6.5 million soccer fans from over 100 countries to North America this summer.
Public health specialists in Washington plan to survey wastewater and internet chatter to proactively detect infectious diseases that emerge in the 16 cities across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada hosting the World Cup’s 104 scheduled matches this summer.
A team operating under the National Center for Health Security and Resilience, a partnership between Georgetown University and MedStar Health, led by Rebecca Katz, director of Georgetown University’s Center for Global Health Science and Security, will provide real-time data about potential threats.
Institutions, non-profit organizations and private companies supporting government agencies will be involved in the effort, dubbed the Health Security Operations Center.
It began operations on June 1, and the team is already receiving data from collection sites in the U.S. and Canada.
“Mass-gathering events like the World Cup require the kind of coordinated, multidisciplinary situational awareness that no single institution or jurisdiction can provide alone,” Ms. Katz said in a statement. “Our role is to support the people responsible for protecting public health, such as city health departments, hospitals, emergency managers, and many others, by providing data and insight to help them assess a complicated situation and act confidently if a risk emerges.”
A daily status report will flag emerging risks to hospital emergency managers, public health authorities and tournament organizers. Over 350 organizations and individuals are already enrolled to receive daily situation reports.
It will also monitor online discussions and surveys with game attendees.
Researchers will use DNA and RNA sequencing to identify genetic strands from microbes in sewage without requiring laboratory culture. “It’s incredibly powerful,” Ms. Katz told Reuters.
The team will prioritize measles monitoring, as U.S. case counts have already surpassed 2,000 this year — eclipsing last year’s total of 2,286, which was itself the highest since the disease was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000. Ebola and mosquito-borne illnesses are also on the watch list.
They will track anonymized data from electronic health records and comb through open-source social media platforms for information relating to potential outbreaks.
The Health Security Operations Center also acts as a sort of guinea pig for future events, including the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
“This is such an important and timely opportunity to innovate in the health security space,” said Shane Kappler, medical director of the Biocontainment Unit at MedStar Health. “Throughout the World Cup and beyond, we are committed to building the kind of regional health infrastructure that makes communities more resilient.”
The federal government allocated $625 million in grant funds for World Cup law enforcement and security but zero for public health, as related to public health, biosecurity or food safety “are not typically funded through these grants,” a FEMA spokesperson told Sports Illustrated.
Financial support for the center comes from Georgetown University, MedStar Health and a coalition of collaborators, including a family foundation and in-kind services, equipment and expertise, according to the center.
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