Genomic Surveillance Lands at Chicago and Miami Airports

Donald Hackett — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 20:14:08 +0000

Reviewer:

In 2021, health officials started testing airline passengers who passed through a New York airport to identify imported emerging infectious diseases, part of the U.S. national biosecurity initiative.

Over the past three years, more than 300,000 travelers from over 135 countries have participated each year in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance (TGS) program.

The TGS has been offering testing services in Los Angeles, Newark, Seattle, Boston, San Francisco, NYC (JFK), and Washington, DC (IAD).

As of March 12, 2024, the TGS expansion includes Miami and Chicago airports.

International travelers arriving at these airports volunteer to self-collect nasal swab samples, which are shipped to a laboratory network for reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction testing.

Positive samples undergo whole genome sequencing to determine virus variants.

Selected TGS samples are then shared with the CDC's laboratory, where they undergo viral characterization, which can provide information about a new variant's transmissibility, virulence, and response to current treatments or vaccines.

However, program participants are not notified of their test results.

The key benefit of the $37 million budget airport testing program is expedited information sharing with public health authorities to help control disease outbreaks before they cause widespread impact.

During the U.S.'s 2023–2024 respiratory season, the TGS conducted an enhanced multipathogen nasal sampling pilot, which tested for Flu A/B, RSV, SARS-CoV-2, and other respiratory pathogens.

An example use-case is the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) season.

Each year, RSV circulation in the U.S. begins in Florida in the fall, then transitions to the southeast and later to the north and west regions. With the enhanced TGS, health officials can learn when RSV is spreading via air travelers.

Furthermore, RSV vaccinations could be promoted in targeted cities.

Additionally, the CDC has conducted airplane wastewater sampling at San Francisco and Boston airports since August 2022. Positive samples undergo whole genome sequencing to determine variants.

This airplane wastewater program is expanding from a pilot phase to broader implementation in 2024.

The TGS, led by the CDC's Travelers' Health Branch, is a public-private partnership. It collaborates with XpresCheck (an airport-based testing company) and Concentric by Ginkgo (a network of over 60 laboratories with genetic sequencing capability). The companies may expand the program to check for more different disease-causing germs.

"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to take the TGS program to the next level. Multipathogen biomonitoring expands this critical biosecurity infrastructure for the United States," said Matt McKnight, General Manager for Biosecurity at Ginkgo Bioworks, in a press release on March 12, 2024.

The CDC's Advanced Molecular Detection Program supported the pilot program when it launched in September 2021.

Sub Title:

US CDC nasal sampling program provides information about a virus variant transmissibility

References:

CDC Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance for Early Detection

US CDC Notes from the Field 2013

Image:

Google News Keywords:

vaccinations

Featured:

Fact checked:

Friday, March 15, 2024 - 05:30

Image Caption:

US CDC Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance map March 2024

RSV, COVID-19, Flu Hospitalizations Declining in February 2024

Karen McClorey Hackett — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 22:38:22 +0000

Reviewer:

Robert Carlson, MD

Holly Lutmer PharmD

According to the U.S. government, the current respiratory season is ending with less impact on hospitalization than last year.

The combined weekly hospitalization rate for COVID-19 and influenza from the National Healthcare Safety Network during the week of December 30, 2023, was 87.5% of 2022's peak (16.8 vs 19.2 admissions per 100,000).

On February 8, 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published potentially its last Outlook regarding respiratory disease for the remainder of the 2023-2024 season.

The CDC anticipates that total hospitalizations for COVID-19, influenza, and RSV will decline but remain elevated into February 2024.

COVID-19 surveillance data, hospital admission forecasts, and growth estimates indicate that COVID-19 activity remains elevated but has decreased and is likely to continue decreasing into February.
Hospital admission forecasts and growth estimates indicate that influenza activity will remain elevated into February.
RSV activity remains elevated but is decreasing nationally. The national per capita hospitalization rate remains lower than the peak for the last RSV season.

The CDC wrote, 'We do not anticipate producing additional respiratory disease outlooks during the remainder of the 2023-2024 season. We continue to monitor respiratory diseases and will update this Outlook should we identify any unusual events, such as a significant resurgence of these diseases.'

The final CDC Outlook is based on expert judgment, historical data, and scenario modeling.

From a prevention perspective, the CDC confirmed ample supplies of respiratory vaccines and antibody therapies are available at most clinics and pharmacies in the U.S.

Sub Title:

COVID-19 and influenza hospitalization rate is 87.5% of 2022

Reference:

Respiratory Disease Season Outlook - Feb. 8, 2024

Image:

Google News Keywords:

RSV, vaccinations

Featured:

Fact checked:

Saturday, February 10, 2024 - 15:00

Image Caption:

from Pixabay

Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Genomic Surveillance Lands at Chicago and Miami Airports

RSV, COVID-19, Flu Hospitalizations Declining in February 2024