Football fever in Russia: Infectious disease risks and the FIFA world cup 2018

The World Cup 2018 (from June 14th to July 15th) will be held in Russia in 11 host cities (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Saransk, Sochi, Volgograd, and Yekaterinburg) that span a vast geographic area with a wide range of different climatic conditions (Table 1) and some infectious disease risks. Over three million people will participate in this mass gathering event. Sunburn, heat-related and cosmopolitan illnesses can be expected. Infections will most likely not pose major hazards for teams, fans and spectators but this editorial considers possible risks from an epidemiological perspective and suggests some preventative measures to mitigate the risk of infection.
Source: Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease - Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Source Type: research