When the 2026 FIFA World Cup begins on June 11, matches will be played across 16 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Millions of fans will arrive through multiple airports and pack into stadiums, airports, hotels, bars and public transit systems over five weeks – a weekslong experiment in global mixing that creates a perfect environment for infectious diseases to spread.
Just weeks before kick-off, the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency over an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda caused by a rare strain called Bundibugyo, which kills roughly 1 in 3 people it infects. No approved vaccines, rapid diagnostic tests or treatments exist for this strain, and the global response has been complicated by deep cuts to international health aid and the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization.
“WHO declares global health emergency over rare Ebola strain weeks before World Cup 2026 begins.”
If a case is detected, rapid identification and isolation are critical to prevent further local transmission. Still, the risk of Ebola reaching a World Cup stadium is very low – the virus spreads only through direct contact with bodily fluids like blood or saliva, not through the air, and infected people aren’t contagious until they show symptoms.
The U.S. has banned entry for non-U.S. citizens and green card holders who have been in the affected countries in the past 21 days and is screening all passengers traveling from affected areas. It is also urging European countries to embrace similar procedures as World Cup travel picks up. Mexico and Canada also have travel restrictions in place.
Far more likely threats for attending fans are respiratory infections – illnesses spread by coughing, sneezing and breathing in crowded spaces. Of special concern is measles, which is surging in the United States as well as in Canada and Mexico, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Events of this scale rarely cause major outbreaks, but they do create opportunities for outbreaks and for health systems to be tested. The possibilities range from the dramatic but unlikely (an imported Ebola case) to the much more probable (flu and measles spreading through crowded venues) and the largely overlooked (spikes in sexually transmitted infections and mosquito-borne diseases gaining footholds in new areas).
As one infectious diseases physician and avid soccer fan observing the preparations noted: the World Cup is not just a sporting event but a global mixing experiment that puts public health to the test.