ABSTRACT
At first sight, players may be considered at high risk of acquiring and spreading infectious diseases considering the typical circumstances of their training and competition. Timely identification and proper management of infectious diseases are of high relevance in soccer. As with the rest of the general population, and other athletes, the most common infections among soccer players are those of the upper respiratory tract, ranging from 40% to 74% of all illnesses in professional players. The second most common infection in soccer players is gastrointestinal illness. Less common infectious diseases that occur in soccer players include dental, eye, and sexually transmitted infections, among others. These rarely cause severe complications, at least not immediately, but they do interfere with overall wellbeing and, therefore, with performance. The most “definite” approach for prevention of infectious diseases is vaccination. Most approaches to reduce the number of infectious diseases by intake of drugs claim to boost or improve the immune response.
