Philadelphia health officials ramp up disease surveillance ahead of FIFA games

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Soccer fans are headed to Philadelphia this month, a host city for the FIFA Club World Cup.

The tournament, which is a smaller version of next year’s 2026 World Cup, is played by club teams from all different countries. The first local game kicks off Monday at Lincoln Financial Field.

Philadelphia public health officials said they expect attendance for this summer’s games to be mostly people from the United States, but they also see the tournament as an opportunity to test out heightened disease surveillance and safety plans in preparation for next year’s larger event, which will draw in many more international visitors.

“We have another year to evaluate what we did during this period of time and see if anything needs to be changed going into next year,” said Jessica Caum, acting director of the Division of Disease Control.

Part of that preparation and surveillance, Caum said, involves identifying any potential diseases that are endemic to other parts of the world where people are coming from.

“And then doing that preparation with health care providers to make sure that they have awareness of potential diseases that they may not be expecting or that may not be typical,” she said.

Highly infectious diseases like measles are a top concern. Outbreaks and cases in several countries, including domestically, can pose a danger if people are unvaccinated and attend large gatherings like fan events and games, officials said.

“So, if a person presents with certain things, a respiratory illness and there’s a rash,” officials want clinicians to focus on testing them for measles, Caum said.

Health officials and health care systems have to be prepared for everything, she said, including mass casualty events, despite how unlikely they are to occur given tournament safety measures.

The health department collaborates with local hospitals, emergency management leaders, fire departments, the medical examiner’s office and others to prepare for any high volume of injuries.

Games this year and next will take place during the hot summer months, so Caum said public health officials are expected to see heat-related issues and illnesses.

“Reminders about hydration, sunscreen, some of those other things that we need to do in the summer to protect ourselves and stay healthy, that’s good information to get out to the public,” she said.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the largest single-sport international event of the year. Games will be played across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with the final match scheduled for July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

It could be a daunting thing to plan for, but Caum said Philly is no stranger to hosting events that draw massive crowds from near and abroad. She said experts are referencing preparedness plans from the 2015 papal visit by Pope Francis and newer surveillance systems that were put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is kind of exciting to be here 10 years out from that event and being able to implement some of the things that we did then and then incorporate some of the improved systems and processes and communication methods that we have now in the last five years,” she said.