The World Cup gets underway next week and millions will pack huge stadiums to watch. Public health officials will be watching too, only they’re looking for germs that could spread at these matches!
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The World Cup kicks off next week, and millions of people are expected to pack stadiums in the U.S., Canada and Mexico to watch. Health officials will be watching, as well, for the spread of germs and other potential hazards. NPR’s Pien Huang reports on what they’ll be looking for.
PIEN HUANG, BYLINE: For public health officials, the World Cup is a big deal, but it’s not their first rodeo. Dr. Marcus Plescia is district health director for Fulton County, Georgia, which includes Atlanta.
MARCUS PLESCIA: What we’ve really been trying to focus on is to expect the expected.
PIEN HUANG: Atlanta is hosting eight World Cup matches and a monthlong fan festival where they expect some 15,000 people a day. Feeding them safely involves daily food inspections.
PLESCIA: We want to make sure that people feel confident that they can go out to eat and they can have a good time and they don’t have to worry about getting any kind of food poisoning.
PIEN HUANG: Another concern for the World Cup is summer heat. Dr. Alister Martin is health commissioner in New York City.
ALISTER MARTIN: It was in the 90s, nearing 100 just a couple weeks ago, and so it’s going to be a hot summer.
PIEN HUANG: The World Cup finals will be just outside the city in mid-July, and Dr. Phil Huang with the Dallas County Health Department says when lots of people gather, germs tend to spread.
PHIL HUANG: Influenza, COVID, measles, you know, mpox.
PIEN HUANG: He says they’re tracking these and other pathogens in wastewater so they can report if they see a spike. Dallas will host the most matches of any city. They’re sharing health tips in different languages, like hydrate, wear a hat and sunscreen and bug spray, stay home if you’re sick.
PHIL HUANG: It’s the same messages, but it’s really concentrated because we’ve got so many people coming in at this time.
PIEN HUANG: FIFA, the World Cup organizer, says they’ve sold more than 5 million tickets.
Pien Huang, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
