XWELL and Ginkgo Bioworks are expanding their work with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) traveler-based genomic surveillance program to test for more than 30 priority pathogens, in addition to SARS-CoV-2.
TGS is a flexible, multimodal platform that includes voluntary nasal swabbing, aircraft wastewater, and airport wastewater sampling to enhance early detection of new SARS-CoV-2 variants and other pathogens–and fills gaps in global surveillance.
Concentric by Ginkgo, the biosecurity and public health unit of Ginkgo Bioworks, and XpresCheck by XWELL, are partnering to expand their work with the CDC to monitor more than 30 new viruses, bacteria, and antimicrobial resistance targets including several seasonal respiratory pathogens, such as influenza A and B, RSV, and SARS-CoV-2.
The program expansion will launch at John Kennedy International (JFKJ), San Francisco International (SFO), Boston Logan International (BOS), Washington Dulles International (IAD) airports.
“With air travel exceeding pre-pandemic levels and the ongoing spread of COVID-19 and other viruses, it is crucial that we continue to test,” said XpresCheck CEO Ezra Ernst. “The data that we collect provides crucial insights for public health officials to inform how best to protect our nation from the threat of evolving viruses. We thank the volunteers who elect to swab their noses in service to our national security and public health.”
