Cairo International Airport is using thermal body scanners to help detect passengers with swine flu, reports Amirah Ibrahim Cairo International Airport has spent $500,000 on five thermal imagers to help them screen people for H1N1 Influenza A, or swine flu. "Only three of the five have been so far in service. There is enormous demand on such equipment," says Mohamed El-Shieshaai, Cairo International Company's (CIC) vice-president. "The thermal scanners are now being used to check arrivals from New York as well as all arriving or departing onboard flights on Star Alliance from the new terminal." "The thermal scanners allow airport officials to measure the skin temperature of large numbers of passengers. On the first day they were used to check 290 passengers coming from New York in just 20 minutes. Those who register higher than normal temperatures can then be isolated for further evaluation." All objects emit Infrared (IR) energy. IR non-contact thermal imagers use IR emissions to measure surface temperature, including the temperature of skin. The scanners can detect temperature differences as small as 0.05 degrees Centigrade allowing individuals with high skin temperatures to be pulled aside for further screening. El-Shieshaai says thermal scanners will be installed in the airport's other two terminals soon, "hopefully by Monday". While the traffic through Egyptian airports is estimated at 70,000 passengers every day just 24,549 passengers have been examined since 1 May. Meanwhile, all international passengers arriving through Egyptian airports have been obliged to fill out health declarations. Medhat Hindawi, chairman of the Egyptian Airports Company, has announced that Egypt's five main airports used by tourists will eventually receive thermal scanners. "Sharm El-Sheikh Airport, with traffic that exceeds six million passengers a year, will be the next to receive them," said Hindawi. There have been no confirmed cases of swine flu in Egypt. Of 77 suspected cases all patients tested negative, the majority suffering from common influenza. "The latest was a French family of five. The parents, two daughters and a son arrived from Paris to Cairo on Monday. Two members of the family had fever. The family was kept at Abbasiya General Hospital under observation for 24 hours," says Hassan Shaaban, head of Cairo International Quarantine Unit. Two days earlier two Chinese and a Colombian arriving from Nairobi were taken to the hospital. They are still being observed. Passengers have to queue before passing through the thermal scanners. "We believe the inconvenience is worthwhile if it helps protect Egypt from swine flu," says Shaaban. In the arrival and departure halls of Cairo International Airport immigration officers, custom officials and policemen are all equipped with masks. The Health Ministry has provided Cairo International Airport with at least 50 doctors, 40 nurses and 60 technicians. Health authorities have already converted a private mental hospital, located near the airport, into a quarantine unit to receive suspected cases of swine flu.
