6 events in Passaic County with a date

Health community preps for World Cup

Airborne diseases, OD's among experts' concerns

By: Jack Perry
Providence Journal
USA Today Network

..... Infectious diseases spreading through the population. Bio-terrorism Unique illness. Rabies, Injuries from violence. Heart-stroke. Drug overdoses. Trauma cases due to an increase in car crashes.
..... With soccer fans from different parts of the world visiting the United States for World Cup games in June and July, [2026] medical professionals are trying to anticipate and prepare for all potential public health problems while navigating language and cultural differences.
..... "It's prepare for the worst and hope for the best, said Dr. Leonard Mermel, a doctor of osteopathic medicine and the medical director of the department of epidemiology and infection control for Brown University Health.

What concerns doctors?

..... Medical professionals want to be ready for any possibility. They want to make sure they can treat any potentiality illnesses or injuries, contain any potential outbreaks, get patient where they need to go, and have enough medicine and personal protective equipment on hand.
..... "These people are going to be coming form different parts of the world, where they have some similar and some unique infectious agents, and you're obviously not going to know who may be in the incubation period of one of these transmissible infections," Mermel said.
..... Some hospitals have had group discussions across state lines on how they should react to different scenarios. For instance, the Rhode Island Department of Health said it is coordinator with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to protect residents and visitors. Some games will take place at Foxboro's Gillette Stadium, re branded Boston Stadium for tournament, not far form the Rhode Island-Massachusetts border.
..... Teams from Ghana, Haiti, Scotland, Norway, Morocco, England and France will play in Foxboro, and thousands, maybe millions, of their fans will follow.
..... That's just one of 11 U.S. cities hosting World Cup games.
..... The Rhode Island Department of Health has provided training and is "reviewing emergency response plans for all hazards, from infectious disease outbreaks to mass casualty events to bio-terrorism attacks," it said. It is also "expanding testing capacity for infections not typically seen in the region" and continuing to monitor wastewater "for respiratory diseases like flu, RSV, COVID-19, avian influenza and measles."
..... Mermel said health professionals need to think of "all the potential infections, of which there are many." He said rabies could even be an issue, because some other countries aren't as aggressive with their animal vaccination practices.
..... Airborne diseases were among Mermel's biggest concerns.
..... "What concerns me are things that are spread through the air, where you could be several feet away and still get infected, like tuberculosis. Measles is one of those," he said.
..... Some of the illnesses won't be easy to recognize, such as diphtheria, which Mermel presumes many U.S. doctors haven't seen.
.... Mermel said hospital emergency rooms and urgent care centers will mostly likely detect infectious disease outbreaks first.
..... Another part of the discussion has been "how to transfer sick patients from the urgent care through the emergency department safely and to avoid contamination to others," said Dr. Olivier Gherardi, medical director for Brown University Health Urgent Care,
..... It's important for medical professionals to share information on infectious diseases to quell potential outbreaks.

Non-disease concerns

..... Urgent care centers could see an increase in other types of patients as well. Soccer fans have a reputation for being passionate. could competing fans clash?
..... "People are going to be drinking more," Gherardi said. "It's also possible we'll have more car accidents because people have maybe different driving rules in their country."
..... "There's also a concern that the illicit drug supply in the United States may be a little bit different than what tourists from other countries are accustomed to, so we may be getting some overdoses and we need to be ready for that," Gheradia said.
..... It will be important to have enough naloxone OT reverse the effects of overdoses.

Meds can present challenges

..... In some cases, doctors and nurses will have to contend with language differences. Medication could provide another challenge since it could be difficult to determine what medication a patient is taking and the dosage.
..... "Health care is different in different parts of the world," said Bryan McCarthy, vice president and chief pharmacy officer for Rhode Island Hospital. "International travelers may learn that some medication available over the counter in other countries require a prescription here."
..... The names of certain medications could be different, too.
..... To prevent problems, Brown is providing its clinicians with information including "some best prates" for confirming past ,medications and interpreting different brand names, according to Donald McKaig, director of medication use policy quality and safety for Brown University Health.
..... McCarthy said Brown University Health is collaborating with other medical professionals to make sure there is enough medication available to treat illnesses related to heatstroke, drug overdose, physical violence and mass casualty events.
..... McCarthy said the pharmacy department has also been inconstant with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding potential bio-terrorism agents, such as anthrax, plague or smallpox.
..... Mermel, the infectious disease doctor, said, "it all comes down to preparation."

HOME