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CDC Expands Virus Surveillance Program at Major US Airports to Test for Over 30 Pathogens

Pilot program at JFK, Boston Logan, Dulles, and San Francisco airports will include testing for flu, RSV and other respiratory viruses, with samples collected from over 370,000 voluntary air travelers and airplane wastewater, as part of upgraded disease surveillance strategy.

Overview

  • The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expanding its Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance (TGS) program at four major US airports to test for over 30 pathogens including flu, RSV, and other respiratory viruses.
  • The pilot program will enroll over 370,000 air travelers on a voluntary basis and will sample wastewater from airplanes and airport restrooms for virus testing.
  • In an upgrade from only testing for COVID-19, the CDC will aim to trace the spread of variants and initiate early intervention strategies. The TGS program has previously detected new variants like the SARS-CoV-2 variant BA.2.86.
  • Dr. Cindy Friedman, Chief of the CDC’s Travelers’ Health Branch, has emphasized the program's importance as an early disease detection and prevention tool, particularly as flu season sets in.
  • Two private companies, Ginkgo Bioworks and XpresCheck, will implement the program, which will contribute genomic sequences of detected viruses to public databases to aid worldwide health responses.