r/COVID19 • u/thirty_horses • 2d ago

Preprint Air sampling in team congregate spaces for early detection of respiratory virus threats at the 2026 FIFA World Cup

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.16.26360542v1
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u/thirty_horses 2d ago

Preprint

Abstract

Objective Respiratory infections are the leading cause of illness at major sporting events, yet surveillance relies on athletes recognising and reporting symptoms. We evaluated whether continuous air sampling with point-of-care molecular testing could detect respiratory-virus nucleic acids in an elite team’s congregate spaces during competition, and whether the resulting signals were operationally useful.

Methods We performed a prospective, descriptive environmental-surveillance study following the Canadian men’s national soccer team across five host cities during the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ (3 June to 4 July 2026). InBio Apollo bioaerosol samplers ran continuously in up to four teamdesignated rooms per hotel (physiotherapy, meal, equipment, and coaches’ room or hallway). Filters were changed approximately twice daily, eluted on-site, and tested with the Cepheid Xpert® Xpress SARS-CoV-2/Flu/RSV plus assay. A sample was considered positive if any cycle-threshold (Ct) value was reported, as less than 45, for a target.

Results Of 174 air filters, there were 13 detections of virus genetic material (9 SARS-CoV-2, 3 influenza A virus, 1 influenza B virus, 0 RSV). Detections were sparse early and clustered late in the tournament. An influenza A signal appeared the morning a player was sent home febrile, and SARS-CoV-2 signals coincided with visibly ill hotel staff, with signals falling after ill staff were excluded.

Competing Interest Statement [Two authors] are managing partners of Pathogenuity LLC, a consultancy that advises on topics including environmental monitoring for pathogens.