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

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

Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 76, Issue 3, 1 February 2023, Pages e540–e543.

We enrolled arriving international air travelers in a SARS-CoV-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.