Key TakeawaysThe CDC is expanding its Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance program to track RSV, influenza, and more than 30 other respiratory viruses.The program intends to track the flow of viruses into the U.S. from foreign travelers and to understand which COVID-19 variants are circulating.Testing nasal swab samples and wastewater can help fill gaps in international viral surveillance, the agency said.

Key Takeaways

The CDC is expanding its Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance program to track RSV, influenza, and more than 30 other respiratory viruses.The program intends to track the flow of viruses into the U.S. from foreign travelers and to understand which COVID-19 variants are circulating.Testing nasal swab samples and wastewater can help fill gaps in international viral surveillance, the agency said.

The United States and most other countries no longer require air travelers to test for COVID-19 before boarding a flight. Without mandated testing, it can be challenging for public health officials to keep a handle on which variants are entering the country.

In 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance Program to provide the agency with early warning signs of emerging variants.The CDC is now expanding its viral surveillance program to include tests for influenza, RSV, and more than 30 other respiratory viruses.

The program collects samples from international travelers who enter through one of six U.S. airports and volunteer to receive a nasal swab.

The samples are sent to laboratories, and scientists sequence the genome of positive samples. CDC laboratories will further test certain variant samples for their ability to infect cells, cause severe disease, and evade immune responses from vaccination or infection. The sequencing information is then uploaded to public databases, where public health officials and policymakers can use the data to inform health strategy.

The agency said the program detected BA.2, BQ.1, and other Omicron variants up to six weeks before they were reported in other parts of the world. The testing alerted the CDC to theemergence of BA.2.86within days of the variant’s appearance in global health surveillance networks.

The agency will follow the same playbook when testing for other respiratory viruses.

“The TGS program, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic, acted as an early warning system to detect new and rare variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and will do the same for other respiratory viruses going forward,” Cindy Friedman, chief of CDC’s Travelers’ Health Branch,said in a statement.

The program does not serve as a free test site for people with symptoms of respiratory illness. The samples are all collected anonymously, and they are deidentified. Information from the sample can help scientists understand which viruses are circulating, but the individual volunteers won’t receive information about whether their test came back positive.

So far, the program has included more than 360,000 travelers, the agency said, and it covers flights from more than 135 countries.

The program intends to fill gaps in the surveillance of respiratory viruses. Understanding which viruses are circulating, and which variants of those viruses are emerging, canhelp public health officials to prepare a response. Knowing which COVID-19 variants are driving the most disease in the U.S., for instance, informs vaccine makers about how to build a new formula that best neutralizes those variants.

The Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance program also includes sampling of wastewater from seven airports nationwide and the aircraft that travel through them. The feces and urine of people sick with a viral infection often carry shreds of DNA from the pathogen. As nasal and throat swab testing for COVID-19 declined, public health researchers came to rely on the evidence found in wastewater to learn how the virus spread in a community. The CDC will bolster that surveillance program to test for other respiratory viruses.

What This Means For YouSamples collected through the CDC surveillance program are anonymized. That means people who volunteer to get their nose swabbed will not receive the results of their test.

What This Means For You

Samples collected through the CDC surveillance program are anonymized. That means people who volunteer to get their nose swabbed will not receive the results of their test.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Traveler-based genomic surveillance for early detection of New SARS-CoV-2 variants.

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