A Public Health Risk Assessment for FIFA World Cup Planning in Washington State
- Presentation Day/Time: Wednesday, April 22, 9:25 AM
- Presenter: Emily Laskowski, MPH, Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) Applied Epidemiology Fellow, Washington State Department of Health
The Issue
- In summer of 2026, Washington will host six matches and nine fan zones as a part of the FIFA World Cup. Considering possible increased transmission of endemic diseases, sporadic importations of non-endemic diseases, and a greater underlying population with the influx of an estimated 400-750 thousand travelers, the Washington State Department of Health has collaborated with partners to prepare for enhanced public health surveillance.
What We Did
- We conducted a risk assessment to identify priority diseases and conditions for surveillance and monitoring before, during, and after the event. We applied our scoring criteria to 157 individual diseases and conditions falling within communicable disease, environmental hazard, and injury categories to create an initial score ranging from 16-109, with a higher initial score correlating with a greater likelihood or severity in the context of a large event.
What We Found
- Out of the 157 conditions assessed, 64 were selected for inclusion as priorities. The majority were communicable diseases, falling into categories including respiratory, vaccine-preventable, zoonotic and vectorborne, agents of bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases, enteric diseases, sexually transmitted infections, and healthcare associated infections.
What This Means
- The results from this risk assessment framework helped guide public health surveillance planning efforts for the World Cup in Washington State, including informing assessments of existing surveillance systems, development of situational awareness tools, creation of communications resources, engagement with key partners, and identification of staff, training and other resource needs.
