TONIGHT, A NEW KIND OF BAGGAGE CHECK AT LOGAN AIRPORT. THE CDC ANNOUNCING IT PLANS TO START TESTING INTERNATIONAL TRAVELERS ARRIVING IN BOSTON AND THREE OTHER AIRPORTS FOR MORE THAN 30 PATHOGENS. ALL RIGHT. HERE TO EXPLAIN, DR. ALI RAJA, DEPUTY CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE AT MASS GENERAL. DR. RAJA, GOOD TO SEE YOU. YOU, TOO, BEN. ALL RIGHT. THIS FEELS LIKE A LITTLE BIT LIKE BEEN THERE, DONE THAT. DIDN’T WE DO THIS? DURING THE PANDEMIC, THE CDC INTRODUCED A SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM AT SEVEN AIRPORTS BACK IN 2021 TO DETECT NEW VARIANTS OF COVID 19. SO WHY ARE THEY NOW EXPANDING THE PROGRAM AT FOUR OF THE AIRPORTS, INCLUDING HERE AT LOGAN? IT’S A GREAT QUESTION, BUT THE SHORT ANSWER IS JUST THAT IT’S BEEN WORKING SO LIKE YOU SAID, THIS CURRENT PROGRAM HAS BEEN IN PLACE DURING NASAL SWABS SINCE 2021, AND WASTEWATER TESTING SINCE 2022. LOOKING FOR THESE NEW COVID VARIANTS. BUT IT’S DETECTED A LOT OF THESE VARIANTS UP TO SIX WEEKS BEFORE THEY WERE REPORTED TO THE CDC, A NATIONWIDE. AND SO THIS NEW EXPANDED PROGRAM THAT’S HERE AT LOGAN, AT SFO, AT DULLES AND AT JFK IS ALSO GOING TO LOOK FOR ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT BACTERIA, THE FLU AND RSV, AND HOPES TO PICK THEM UP EARLY AS WELL. WOW. SO SO SHOULD PARENTS HAVE A PARENTS, PASSENGERS HAVE ANY CONCERN ABOUT PRIVACY? ERIKA YOU KNOW, FORTUNATELY, NO. THE NASAL SWABBING IS ALL VOLUNTARY AND ANONYMOUS. AND IT SEEMS LIKE PEOPLE ARE STILL WILLING TO DO IT. THEY GET 6000 VOLUNTEERS EVERY WEEK. AND THE WASTEWATER TESTING, THIS IS KIND OF COOL. THEY ACTUALLY TEST THE WASTEWATER FROM AN ENTIRE PLANE. AND SO IT ALLOWS THEM TO TEST LIKE A COUPLE OF HUNDRED TRAVELERS AT ONCE. AND AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, IT’S COMPLETELY ANONYMOUS. WOW. SO THAT DOES MAKE SENSE. SO WE KNOW YOU TRACK THE STATE’S DATA ABOUT FLU, COVID AND OTHER RESPIRATORY VIRUSES CLOSELY BECAUSE, OF COURSE, IT HAS AN IMPACT ON YOUR DAY TO DAY JOB. WCVB HOW ARE WE DOING WITH CASES YET? ARE WE INTO FLU SEASON, RSV SEASON NOW? NOT QUITE YET. YET BEN SO WE SAW A LITTLE BIT OF AN UPTICK IN RSV CASES OVER THE PAST WEEK. AND BUT WE’VE SEEN A LITTLE BIT OF A DOWNWARD TREND IN COVID CASES IN TERMS OF FLU, THOUGH, SO FAR, THE ENTIRE STATE JUST HAS WHAT WE CALL MINIMAL ACTIVITY, WHICH MEANS THAT IT’S STILL PRIME VACCINATED TIME. SO IF YOU HAVEN’T GOTTEN YOUR FLU SHOT YET, IT’S STILL A PERFECT TIME TO DO SO. RIGH
CDC to check Boston vacationers for more than a few pathogens
Up to date: 6:42 PM EST Nov 6, 2023
The Facilities for Illness Keep watch over and Prevention is increasing its infectious illness surveillance program to Boston’s Logan Airport in addition to 3 different airports and can come with checking out for greater than 30 pathogens, together with flu, RSV and different breathing viruses.This system these days operates COVID-19 surveillance at seven main global airports in america. For a pilot program, it’s now increasing to check for greater than 30 micro organism, antimicrobial resistance goals and viruses, together with influenza A and B, and breathing syncytial virus, referred to as RSV, at Boston Logan Global Airport, San Francisco Global Airport, Dulles Global Airport in Washington, D.C., and John F. Kennedy Global Airport in New York.With COVID-19 in the back of us, why is this system increasing?”The quick solution is simply that it is been operating,” Dr. Ali Raja, deputy chair of the Division of Emergency Medication at Mass Basic Sanatorium, mentioned. “It is detected numerous those variants as much as six weeks ahead of they have been reported to the CDC and national,” Raja mentioned. Raja mentioned the expanded program in Boston, Washington, New York and San Francisco goes to search for antibiotic-resistant micro organism, the flu and RSV in hopes to select them up early as smartly. “The nasal swabbing is all voluntary and nameless,” Raja mentioned. “It sort of feels like individuals are nonetheless keen to do it.” The traveler surveillance program was once presented in 2021 when the CDC started accumulating nasal swab samples from nameless global vacationers arriving at collaborating airports who volunteered to get swabbed.As of ultimate month, the surveillance program has examined over 370,000 vacationers thru nasal swab sampling, with round 6,000 vacationers volunteering weekly. This system has accumulated samples from vacationers from greater than 135 international locations and has sequenced greater than 14,000 samples for additional research.Knowledge from The Gentleman Report was once used on this record.
BOSTON — The Facilities for Illness Keep watch over and Prevention is increasing its infectious illness surveillance program to Boston’s Logan Airport in addition to 3 different airports and can come with checking out for greater than 30 pathogens, together with flu, RSV and different breathing viruses.This system these days operates COVID-19 surveillance at seven main global airports in america.
For a pilot program, it’s now increasing to check for greater than 30 micro organism, antimicrobial resistance goals and viruses, together with influenza A and B, and breathing syncytial virus, referred to as RSV, at Boston Logan Global Airport, San Francisco Global Airport, Dulles Global Airport in Washington, D.C., and John F. Kennedy Global Airport in New York.With COVID-19 in the back of us, why is this system increasing?”The quick solution is simply that it is been operating,” Dr. Ali Raja, deputy chair of the Division of Emergency Medication at Mass Basic Sanatorium, mentioned. “It is detected numerous those variants as much as six weeks ahead of they have been reported to the CDC and national,” Raja mentioned.
Raja mentioned the expanded program in Boston, Washington, New York and San Francisco goes to search for antibiotic-resistant micro organism, the flu and RSV in hopes to select them up early as smartly.
“The nasal swabbing is all voluntary and nameless,” Raja mentioned. “It sort of feels like individuals are nonetheless keen to do it.” The traveler surveillance program was once presented in 2021 when the CDC started accumulating nasal swab samples from nameless global vacationers arriving at collaborating airports who volunteered to get swabbed.As of ultimate month, the surveillance program has examined over 370,000 vacationers thru nasal swab sampling, with round 6,000 vacationers volunteering weekly. This system has accumulated samples from vacationers from greater than 135 international locations and has sequenced greater than 14,000 samples for additional research.
Knowledge from The Gentleman Report was once used on this record.
