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Airports install heat-seeking cameras to screen for flu fevers

To screen passengers for swine flu and other contagious diseases, some airports use thermal imaging cameras to see whether travelers have fevers, without having to stick thermometers in their mouths.

The sensitive cameras work just like regular cameras, except that instead of recording the light that objects reflect, these cameras are sensitive to heat, measuring temperatures down to a fraction of a degree. They also work in the dark. Images from the cameras show up on video screens with hotter objects looking brighter.

Thermal cameras were used during the SARS outbreak in 2002 and 2003, and airports in Singapore and China have been using them continuously since. Mexico already has 10 such cameras, with 40 more were being bought for the country's eight largest airports.

Of course, while the cameras can detect higher temperatures, they can't screen for swine flu itself. Someone running to catch a flight can have a higher body temperature than someone who's just had a drink. A fever also does not necessarily mean that someone is sick with swine flu, so airports will need to do further screening once they spot passengers with high temperatures.

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