Two
commercially available scanners meant for use in airports and other public
facilities can reliably detect people with fevers, making them useful during
disease outbreaks, researchers of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention reported October 13. Researchers found that the scanners, which work
at a distance of 3 to 6 feet, do a better job of detecting fevers than when
people are simply asked if they feel feverish. They tested three systems in
several emergency rooms and found they detected about 90 percent of fevers.
That compared with 75 percent accuracy when people were askedif they felt like
they had a fever. Airport fever scanners were used in some countries during
last year’s pandemic of H1N1 swine flu, and the 2003 outbreak of Severe
AcutRespiratory Syndrome, which killed about 800 people globally before it was
contained.
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