Verily to provide wastewater surveillance during 2026 world soccer games
Verily Health will provide wastewater monitoring and data analysis services as part of a public health initiative supporting the 2026 world soccer games across North America.
The company has joined the Health Security Operations Center (HSOC), a collaboration between Georgetown University and MedStar Health, to help monitor potential infectious disease threats during the tournament, which is expected to draw approximately 6.5 million fans to 16 host sites.
Using its Sightline wastewater monitoring platform, Verily will test wastewater samples for pathogens including SARS-CoV-2, influenza, RSV, norovirus and measles. The company will also aggregate wastewater data from additional sources and publish pathogen trend information through a public dashboard.
Data collected through the program will be analyzed alongside other health information using Verily Workbench, a collaborative analytics platform. The HSOC will use the information to develop daily situation reports for more than 350 organizations and stakeholders involved in public health preparedness.
Wastewater monitoring has become an increasingly important public health tool because it can provide early warning of disease outbreaks before clinical cases are widely reported. Verily said it has delivered more than one million pathogen results since 2020 and currently provides laboratory testing services for the WastewaterSCAN program.
"We are proud to convene this coalition to help address the complex public health challenges that can emerge as millions of people travel throughout North America this summer," said Rebecca Katz, PhD, MPH, Director of Georgetown's Center for Global Health Science and Security and Director of the Health Security Operations Center, in a press release. “By bringing together expertise from across sectors, including Verily's wastewater monitoring data and analytics capabilities, we can provide the timely, actionable insights to help public health officials assess evolving situations and respond confidently if a risk emerges.”