If you’ve arrived at a coastal-area international airport from an international destination within the last four years, you may be one of a million … a million travelers who has voluntarily submitted to a nasal swab test as part of CDC’s Traveler-Based Genomic Surveillance (TGS) program. Introduced in 2021, the TGS program monitors arriving international travelers for communicable diseases to for detection of and response to emerging pathogens of public health concern.
The surveillance is being conducted at eight airports, with incoming travelers asked if they will voluntarily and anonymously submit to the nasal swab sampling at six, individual airplane wastewater tested at three, and triturator wastewater (consolidated airplane wastewater) at three (see graphic below).
Operating through public-private partnerships and cooperation from the airports, the program’s focus is on early detection of emerging variants of seasonal respiratory viruses and other pathogens of public health concern. Through its data collection, TGS was able to report the first two detections of influenza H3N2 subclade K to public repositories seven days before the next publicly reported sequence.
Each volunteer is asked to self-collect a nasal swab and complete a short survey. Testing is first conducted on pooled samples; if positive, individual samples from the pool are tested to determine variants, strains, or mutations; then select positive samples are shared with CDC laboratories for further genomic characterization.
TAG sees the programs as useful in also tracking the incidence of the diseases over time, such as is shown in the second graphic related to the weekly positive trends of COVID.
COVID Risk Matrix:
Influenza:
Public Health News:
- The Dutch Minister of Agriculture to Parliament is reporting that antibodies against H5N1 were found in a milk sample, representing the first time that the bird flu virus has been detected in cattle outside the US. The detection resulted from testing of milk samples after a cat on the farm died from an H5N1 infection. No sick dairy cows were detected at the time of collection of milk samples, though previous symptoms in cows including breathing problems had been noted. Testing of additional samples from cattle and people on the farm is underway to determine potential spread of the infection.
- Researchers at Washington University Medicine have developed an intranasal H5N1 vaccine that elicited a strong immune response when tested in rodents. This new vaccine was developed based on current circulating variants of the bird flu so it may be more effective than the vaccine that is available now, which was based on older strains. Next steps include additional studies of the vaccine in animals and in model organs representing human immune tissue.
- Seven confirmed cases of Neisseria meningitidis infection (causing septicemia, including meningitis) in adults were reported in Chicago in the latter half of January 2026; 2 deaths have resulted. In a typical year, up to 15 cases are reported, so this represents an early and concerning spike. Two cases occurred among residents at the same homeless shelter, but there are no additional epidemiological links. The investigation continues to determine the optimal public health response which could include vaccination.
- Ethiopia’s first-ever Marburg virus disease outbreak, confirmed in November 2025, was declared over on Jan 26, 2026. There were a total of 14 laboratory-confirmed cases and nine deaths.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics has announced that they will continue to advise routine childhood immunizations against the same 18 diseases as they have in the past, rather than follow the recently issued CDC childhood vaccine revisions. They are basing their recommendations on the specific disease risks and health care delivery realities in the United States.
