The 2026 FIFA World Cup is bringing millions of international visitors to cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Hospitals should be prepared for increased number of emergency department patients with fever, rash, respiratory symptoms, gastrointestinal illness, and other signs of possible infectious disease.
For hospital leaders, preparedness centers on a few operational priorities: consistent travel screening, early isolation, rapid infectious disease consultation, targeted testing, pharmacy readiness, and clear public health escalation pathways.
In a recent presentation to Access TeleCare clinicians and hospital partners, Jade Le, M.D., chief of infectious disease at Access TeleCare, outlined what hospitals should address before patient volumes rise.
Why does the World Cup increase infectious disease risk?
Large international events bring people from regions with different disease activity, vaccination rates, and antimicrobial resistance patterns into crowded spaces.
Visitors will move through airports, hotels, restaurants, public transit systems, fan events, and communities beyond the host cities. Hospitals may see imported infections alongside routine respiratory, gastrointestinal, and sexually transmitted infections.
The clinical challenge begins with recognition. A patient’s travel history may change the differential diagnosis, isolation plan, testing strategy, and treatment decision.
How can teleInfectious Disease support hospital preparedness?
TeleInfectious Disease gives hospitals access to infectious disease physicians who can support evaluation and treatment in real time.
An infectious disease physician can:
- Review travel and exposure history
- Assess symptoms, imaging and laboratory findings
- Recommend targeted testing
- Guide isolation precautions
- Support empiric treatment
- Coordinate public health reporting
- Strengthen antimicrobial stewardship
This support can help hospitals without consistent onsite infectious disease coverage respond to unfamiliar or high-risk presentations.
