I recently arrived in the Philippines from an extended stay in Las Vegas, Nevada. The whole issue of the flu virus and its subsequent emergence as the Swine Flu virus was just beginning and so upon arrival in Manila airport security was not even concerned about people with flu like symptoms such as my husband was exhibiting. We were lucky as it turned out because he just had a severe cold that did not develop into anything more serious. This however brings home to me the importance of finding ways to contain a contagious flu virus especially one such as the Swine flu virus of which we humans have no natural immunity to as yet.

   Thermal Imaging as a means to providing this security measure with minimal exposure for airport security personnel is the key. The H1N1 or swine flu virus is a mutated flu virus that was picked up from pigs and it is made more dangerous to humans because as the virus moves from pigs to humans it acquires genetic characteristics that we have no natural immunity against. It is thought to be spread in the same manner as other influenzas (meaning easily spread through sneezing, coughing and contact with surfaces with droplets from infected persons) and that people can be carriers (shedding the virus) within the first 4 - 5 days of contracting the illness or sometimes up to 10 days in young children. The cases reported in the United States are milder versions than those in Mexico so infected people may not know they have the flu virus and the only way to test for it as yet is to send the respiratory swab to Atlanta for identification.

    The CDC is working on getting test kits sent out to state health departments for speedier id of infected people. But how do you know who to swab and keep isolated to stop the unnecessary exposure to the the public? Once again thermal imaging can be the key. SARS and the Bird flu issues were scary especially in Asia because of the ease of transmission of these viruses because of TRAVEL. Airport security would have been constantly exposed to travellers who may have been infected so airports around the world immediately installed Thermal Imaging Cameras for detection of people with elevated temperatures.

    These devices are a contact less, non invasive, fast and reliable means to single out travellers who need to be further examined as a precaution against spreading the flu virus. It is reliable because the camera takes the average values of the first ten passengers to establish a norm value taking into account room temperature, weather conditions, etc. that may affect the readings. If there is a deviation from this value of 1 degree an alarm is set off. It is fast because the temperatures are taken in only a couple of seconds. The camera does not also require constant monitoring as it is set up with color and sound alarms to alert airport security of any deviations.

    The staff can also be trained within a couple of hours to use the thermal cameras correctly. The cameras scan faces and take pictures in real time at a rate of 50 Hz and this data is seen on a connected video monitor or the built in lcd of the camera. It particularly focuses on the corners of the eyes because it is the most reliable temperature spot on the body. Thus, containing a Flu Virus in this world of constant travel means early detection. The best means to achieve this detection without putting our airport security at risk is through the contactless non invasive means provided by thermal imaging cameras.

by Mary Ann Laygo

Mrs. Laygo has a Masters Degree in Business, and is an Avid Traveller.
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4. "Key Facts about H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu)." CDC. http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/key_facts.htm (2 May 2009).