Commonground
Senior Moderator
February 13, 2026
Health care professionals at the nation’s oldest hospital in New York City have been quietly preparing for an influx of soccer fans to come watch the 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer.
Such a large increase in visitors from around the world also raises the risk of imported infectious diseases – including “high-consequence” ones, or special pathogens that have high mortality rates, like Ebola or the Marburg virus.
That’s why doctors, nurses and others at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue Hospital have been practicing elaborate drills that include actor patients and even chartered and commercial airplanes. As part of that broader preparation effort, some 500 health care professionals working at hospitals near the main World Cup venue in New Jersey have received training to ensure they’re ready to treat what comes.
“We’re training a lot,” said Dr. Vikramjit Mukherjee, an intensive care physician who is chief of critical care and the special pathogens program at Bellevue. “Through June, we’re going to the hospitals next to the MetLife stadium, where people will be more prone to present with symptoms, and making sure their front-end capabilities are ready.”
MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, a venue that holds 82,500 spectators, will host eight World Cup matches starting June 13, including the championship on July 19. Greater New York is expected to see more than 1.2 million visitors this summer for the tournament, as the United States expects up to 10 million. Sixteen major cities, and a few smaller ones, across North America will host matches.
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Bellevue Hospital leads outbreak preparedness
The New York City health care system has experience with an influx of international visitors and potential pathogens...
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“Because of what we’ve seen in the last few years — Ebola, Covid, and mpox — we feel that we will be the ones who will be affected first for the next outbreak, and therefore have an additional responsibility of keeping prepared,” Mukherjee said.
Central to preparation has been simulated exercises that bring together different agencies working in different time zones and across international borders. Repeated drills help spot deficiencies.
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This week, the New York State Department of Health announced that it was joining a WHO global network of public health institutions, governments, academic agencies, and labs that aims to coordinate responses to public health threats. New York City, California, and Illinois have also joined.
https://www.healthbeat.org/newyork/2026/02/13/world-cup-outbreak-preparedness-drills/
Health care professionals at the nation’s oldest hospital in New York City have been quietly preparing for an influx of soccer fans to come watch the 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer.
Such a large increase in visitors from around the world also raises the risk of imported infectious diseases – including “high-consequence” ones, or special pathogens that have high mortality rates, like Ebola or the Marburg virus.
That’s why doctors, nurses and others at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue Hospital have been practicing elaborate drills that include actor patients and even chartered and commercial airplanes. As part of that broader preparation effort, some 500 health care professionals working at hospitals near the main World Cup venue in New Jersey have received training to ensure they’re ready to treat what comes.
“We’re training a lot,” said Dr. Vikramjit Mukherjee, an intensive care physician who is chief of critical care and the special pathogens program at Bellevue. “Through June, we’re going to the hospitals next to the MetLife stadium, where people will be more prone to present with symptoms, and making sure their front-end capabilities are ready.”
MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, a venue that holds 82,500 spectators, will host eight World Cup matches starting June 13, including the championship on July 19. Greater New York is expected to see more than 1.2 million visitors this summer for the tournament, as the United States expects up to 10 million. Sixteen major cities, and a few smaller ones, across North America will host matches.
-snip-
Bellevue Hospital leads outbreak preparedness
The New York City health care system has experience with an influx of international visitors and potential pathogens...
-snip-
“Because of what we’ve seen in the last few years — Ebola, Covid, and mpox — we feel that we will be the ones who will be affected first for the next outbreak, and therefore have an additional responsibility of keeping prepared,” Mukherjee said.
Central to preparation has been simulated exercises that bring together different agencies working in different time zones and across international borders. Repeated drills help spot deficiencies.
-snip-
This week, the New York State Department of Health announced that it was joining a WHO global network of public health institutions, governments, academic agencies, and labs that aims to coordinate responses to public health threats. New York City, California, and Illinois have also joined.
https://www.healthbeat.org/newyork/2026/02/13/world-cup-outbreak-preparedness-drills/