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. 2023 Oct 27;72(43):1168-1169.
doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7243a3.

Notes from the Field: Early Identification of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2.86 Variant by the Traveler-Based Genomic Surveillance Program - Dulles International Airport, August 2023

Stephen M Bart, Andrew P Rothstein, Casandra W Philipson, Teresa C Smith, Birgitte B Simen, Azaibi Tamin, Lydia J Atherton, Jennifer L Harcourt, Allison Taylor Walker, Daniel C Payne, Ezra T Ernst, Robert C Morfino, Ian Ruskey, Cindy R Friedman

Notes from the Field: Early Identification of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2.86 Variant by the Traveler-Based Genomic Surveillance Program - Dulles International Airport, August 2023

Stephen M Bart et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. .
No abstract available

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Andrew P. Rothstein, Casandra W. Philipson, Birgitte B. Simen, and Robert C. Morfino own Ginkgo Bioworks employee stocks or restricted stock unit grants. Ezra T. Ernst owns XWELL employee stocks or restricted stock unit grants. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Figures

FIGURE
FIGURE
Phylogeny of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2.86 samples available on Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data as of August 21, 2023 (seven genomes) and ancestral BA.2 sequences,,, — worldwide, August 2023 Abbreviation: GISAID = Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data. * https://gisaid.org † Consensus genome sequences from BA.2.86 GISAID submissions on or before August 21, 2023, were aligned, and mutational profiles were generated using Nextclade (version 2.14.1; https://joss.theoj.org/papers/10.21105/joss.03773). Consensus reference genomes for BA.2 were available at https://github.com/corneliusroemer/ncov-simplest/tree/main/data. A maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree was generated using iqTREE software (version 1.6.12) with 1,000 bootstraps. Using the iqTREE model finder tool, the HKY+F+I model was selected as the most appropriate model according to Bayesian Information Criterion. The maximum likelihood tree was visualized and annotated using iTOL (version 6; https://academic.oup.com/nar/article/49/W1/W293/6246398). Branch labels indicate confidence in phylogenetic placement as a percentage. § https://academic.oup.com/bioinformatics/article/34/23/4121/5001388 https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/32/1/268/2925592 ** The BA.2.86 sample identified through the Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance program (hCoV-19 USA VA-GBW-H20-330-6734 2023 EPI ISL 18121060 2023-08-10) was collected at Dulles International Airport on August 10, 2023.
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