This month and in July, the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles County will host several World Cup matches, and other tournament-related activities will take place within the county. Accordingly, the health department of the county has put health care providers on notice to be alert for infectious diseases during the tournament.
SoFi Stadium will host eight World Cup matches, and the global tournament is coinciding with Pride Month. Because of these events, lots of national and international travelers, at least 150,000, are expected to descend on LA County, and that could provide ideal conditions for many infectious diseases to spread.
County health officials warn that the massive public gatherings anticipated could give many travel-linked infectious diseases an opportunity to spread. The officials warn about sexually transmitted infections, seasonal diseases, and emerging infections as major threats to watch out for.
They specifically point out influenza A, measles, COVID-19, malaria, norovirus and STIs like mpox, syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia among the key infectious diseases to look out for.
County officials note that the flu season is currently ongoing within the Southern Hemisphere, and this makes it possible for the importation of the infection by fans coming to witness the World Cup.
They urge nurses and doctors to interview any patients they attend to about their travel history and report any infectious diseases detected. Health providers who notice spikes in respiratory illnesses or gastrointestinal infections, as well as any other infectious disease patterns, are urged to report these to the county health authorities immediately.
The health department also pointed out that Pride Month and World Cup events create opportunities for people to spend a long time outdoors. This creates a heightened risk of dehydration as well as a host of other heat-linked illnesses, such as heat stroke, fainting and exhaustion. Health care providers need to prepare to deal with such risks in a timely manner so that the condition of any people affected doesn’t deteriorate rapidly.
LA isn’t the only location that will be hosting World Cup matches or having Pride Month events taking place. The risks flagged by the public health officials in Los Angeles equally exist in all the other venues, and that creates a significant need for reliable diagnostic tools to test affected people where they are.
It is unclear whether this capacity exists, but firms like Co-Diagnostics Inc. (NASDAQ: CODX) are massively investing in developing PCR test kits that can be used at home or other settings without relying on centralized labs to test for infectious diseases.
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