As the largest World Cup ever kicks off, health officials are focused on more than Ebola

Key points

• watch now As athletes and millions of fans gear up for the FIFA World Cup starting next week, global health officials are preparing for a high-stakes challenge of their own: protecting against infectious diseases.
• For the first time, the tournament will span 16 host cities across three countries — the United States, Canada and Mexico — and feature 48 teams, making it the largest World Cup in history.
• The event also comes amid an Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda that the World Health Organization has designated a "public health emergency of international concern." Despite those worries, the risk of widespread Ebola transmission during the tournament is low, infectious disease experts told CNBC.
• Public health departments, hospitals and other partners are also well equipped to respond to a range of potential threats — even after sweeping cuts to critical federal agencies and the U.S. exiting from the WHO under the...