SARS and thermography

Recent efforts to control the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has prompted health authorities to develop processes for mass screening, especially for airline passengers.

Because one of the symptoms are high fevers, quickly proposed the use infrared cameras to identify people infected with SARS as they pass through airports. While infrared thermography has many advantages for measuring body temperature there are many variables, human, environmental and technology that can affect accuracy.

What is SARS?

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is a recently discovered and pontecialmente lethal human disease. Since its initial recognition in February 2003, 8200 people were infected of which 735 died.

According to WHO estimates the mortality rate of 15%. However, this rate exceeds 50% in people over 65 years. The rapid spread of the disease led the WHO to label SARS as "the first infectious disease to emerge in the XXI century?.

SARS has demonstrated its rapid spread thanks to international air routes. Since its discovery in Hanoi, Vietnam, SARS spread globally along air routes and has been reported in 6 continents. There is still much to be learned from SARS, is believed to be caused by a virus of the coronavirus family, which is still no vaccine or treatment.

According to the different sites of disease control and prevention the main route of transmission of SARS is the contact between people. Most cases of SARS have occurred in people who cared for or lived with affected by SARS, or had made contact with infected fluids (eg respiratory secretions).

SARS begins with a fever above 38 º C, other symptoms are headache, general feeling of discomfort and body aches. After 2 to 7 days, SARS affected develop a cold and respiratory problems.

Can you use thermal imagers to detect SARS?

Although thermal imaging cameras were used extensively in Asia international airports should be said siguiete:

No protocols are how to measure body temperature without thermometers contacto.No no data to suggest the correlation between skin temperature and corporalLa most infrared cameras lack the precision and resolution needed for diagnosis médica.Hay many variables that affect the accuracy of temperature measurement including environmental conditions, equipment condition and the very person whose body temperature is to high body temperature medir.Una not certify that a person has SARS, the diagnosis should be carried performed by qualified medical personnel.

Learn more about thermography thermographic cameras amperis.com section