Updated Apr 30, 2009 - 7:54 am
Swine flu may bring heat scanners to US airports
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KIRO Radio
You might have to go-through one more screening step at the airport because of the swine flu outbreak.
Temperature sensors are popping-up at airports around the world as airlines try to catch infected passengers before they get on-board.
The sensors became popular in Asia during the SARS and bird flu outbreaks. "They scanned millions of travellers, and they found a handful with actual SARS at the time," Ray Peacock of temperatures.com said.
Peacock's company has tracked temperature sensor technology around the world for over a decade. "It won't detect the flu," Peacock tells mynorthwest.com. "It will detect people with above-normal temperatures, and then they can be further screened."
But many experts believe these sensors will do little to detect the swine flu or prevent infected people from flying. People can be contagious a day before they start showing symptoms like a high fever, and people can actually become contagious during long flights.
These sensors are not believed to be in use at any U-S airports right now. Some airports have tested them, including some in Canada and Mexico.
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