Wastewater pathogen composition in Atlanta, GA prior to and during the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Wastewater surveillance in Atlanta, GA around the 2026 FIFA World Cup found no statistically significant differences in PCR-detected respiratory or gastrointestinal pathogen targets between pre- and during-tournament periods (n=102).

• Why it matters: Mass gatherings can amplify infectious spread, and wastewater-based surveillance can help track pathogen patterns when clinical testing is incomplete.
• What they did: Researchers collected wastewater from three water reclamation facilities (34 collection days, April–July 2026) and tested 19 respiratory and 22 gastrointestinal targets using BIOFIRE WATCHFIRE PCR panels, comparing April 1–June 10 (n=60) versus June 15–July 15 (n=30) with a modified Poisson model and Bonferroni correction.
• The result: A sensitivity analysis including July 20–29 (n=12) showed SARS-CoV-2 detection increased during and after the tournament versus before (RR=3.21, 95% CI=1.40–7.39; p=0.01, p-adjusted=0.048), though this aligned with regional and national wastewater increases, limiting causal inference.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.