Targeted genomic surveillance of international travelers at just two major aviation hubs—Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates—could accelerate the global detection of new virus variants by approximately three days, according to a recent study by researchers at the University of Hong Kong (HKU).

The study, published in March in the journal Nature Communications, was led by Professor Loo Poon Lit-man, chair of public health virology at HKU’s Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine. It highlights how focusing on transit passengers at these key airports can serve as an early-warning system for emerging viral threats without requiring the diversion of resources from other regions.

Using a dataset comprising 9.5 million viral genomes alongside epidemiological information and air travel patterns, the researchers reconstructed the worldwide spread of the Omicron variant. Based on these data, they developed a genomic surveillance model that remains effective even under resource constraints common in many countries, such as limited funding, personnel, and laboratory infrastructure.

The study demonstrated that concentrating surveillance efforts at Hong Kong International Airport and major airports in the UAE—selected for their high passenger throughput and geographic position close to developing areas—can significantly shorten the time needed to identify new variants. This approach proved robust across different epidemic scenarios, irrespective of changes in variant transmissibility or population immunity levels.

Professor Loo emphasized that traditional viral surveillance typically relies on monitoring local community cases, which can delay detection of emerging strains. In contrast, by targeting travelers who often transit through these hubs from resource-limited regions, authorities may detect variants sooner, enabling more rapid contact tracing, public health responses, and vaccine development.

The model also maintained superior performance over existing surveillance methods even when diagnostic or sequencing capacity was reduced by more than half, suggesting strong cost-effectiveness and sustainability for long-term monitoring. Researchers described the strategy as readily implementable at global aviation hubs and potentially valuable for pandemic preparedness beyond COVID-19, with ongoing work aimed at adapting the model for other emerging infectious diseases.

Given that many developing countries face persistent challenges in maintaining effective surveillance due to limited resources, the findings propose a practical and scalable supplement to strengthen global health security by using transit hubs as strategic monitoring points.