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. 2023 Feb 8;76(3):e540-e543.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac461.

Early Detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Variants Using Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance at 4 US Airports, September 2021-January 2022

Renee D Wegrzyn  1 , Grace D Appiah  2 , Robert Morfino  1 , Scott R Milford  3 , Allison Taylor Walker  2 , Ezra T Ernst  3 , William W Darrow  3 , Siyao Lisa Li  1 , Keith Robison  1 , Duncan MacCannell  4 , Dongjuan Dai  1 , Brintha P Girinathan  1 , Allison L Hicks  1 , Bryan Cosca  1 , Gabrielle Woronoff  1 , Alex M Plocik  1 , Birgitte B Simen  1 , Leah Moriarty  2 , Sarah Anne J Guagliardo  2 , Martin S Cetron  2 , Cindy R Friedman  2
Affiliations

Early Detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Variants Using Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance at 4 US Airports, September 2021-January 2022

Renee D Wegrzyn et al. Clin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

We enrolled arriving international air travelers in a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 genomic surveillance program. We used molecular testing of pooled nasal swabs and sequenced positive samples for sublineage. Traveler-based surveillance provided early-warning variant detection, reporting the first US Omicron BA.2 and BA.3 in North America.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; genomic surveillance; international travelers.

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Conflict of interest statement

Potential conflicts of interest. R. D. W., R. M., S. L. L., K. R., D. D., B. P. G., A. L. H., B. C., G. W., A. M. P., and B. B. S. are employed by Ginkgo Bioworks and own Ginkgo Bioworks employee stocks and/or Restricted Stock Units (RSU) grants. S. R. M., E. T. E., and W. W. D. are employed by the XpresSpa Group and own employee stocks and/or RSU grants. All other authors report no potential conflicts. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
A, Program scope for countries of flight origin and airports for traveler-based severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus genomic surveillance program during 29 September 2021–23 January 2022. B, Proportions of variants detected, by collection week, pooled testing. C, Comparison of timeliness of Omicron sublineage detection in the United States (US) based on GISAID reporting for this program compared to other US laboratories 22 December 2021–3 February 2022. Abbreviations: ATL, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Georgia; EWR, Newark Liberty International Airport, GISAID, Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data; JFK, John F. Kennedy Airport, New York, New York; SFO, San Francisco Airport, California.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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