As the largest World Cup ever kicks off, health officials are focused on more than Ebola

Signage for the FIFA World Cup at The Shops at Columbus Circle in New York, May 21, 2026. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images As athletes and millions of fans gear up for the FIFA World Cup starting next week, global health officials are preparing for a high-stakes challenge of their own: protecting against infectious diseases. For the first time, the tournament will span 16 host cities across three countries — the United States, Canada and Mexico — and feature 48 teams, making it the largest World Cup in history. The event also comes amid an Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda that the World Health Organization has designated a "public health emergency of international concern." Despite those worries, the risk of widespread Ebola transmission during the tournament is low, infectious disease experts told CNBC. Public health departments, hospitals and other partners are also well equipped to respond to a range of potential threats — even after sweeping cuts to critical federal agencies and the U.S. exiting from the WHO under the Trump administration. "Ebola and hantavirus, I worry about a lot less," Dr. Shruti Gohil, the associate medical director for University of California, Irvine Health Epidemiology and Infection Prevention, said in an interview. …