SARS precautions will not be relaxed soon. Committee head, Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng, reveals dthis as he began initiative to distribute SARS toolkits to homes, starting in Bishan.

The m ore than a million kits, include a digital thermometer and surgical masks.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has developed anti-SARS measures for international airports. based on guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation.

The measures include screening of incoming and outgoing passengers and airport workers, information for passengers about SARS, and procedures to handle suspect cases.

ICAO will also evaluate and certify the implementation. Changi Airport in Singapore will be the first to be evaluated.

Arab Times Online KUWAIT CITY, June 11

A reliable source was quoted in this web article claiming that the national committee formed to fight SARS plans to increase the medical staff and devices to measure temperature of arriving passengers at the airport to keep up with the expected summer increase in travellers.

Stanford University News Service June 11,2003

Luck has spared USA from SARS epidemic so far, according to Michael Lynn, a visiting fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) at a panel sponsored by the Institute for International Studies. He was skeptical of the understanding among Washington policymakers. "They've been congratulating themselves we've done such a fantastic job in this country ... [that] we've done everything right," he said. "I would argue that is exactly the wrong lesson to take from SARS. I think we've been exceptionally lucky [that no one in the United States has died from SARS] and that this will come back to haunt us if we're not careful next fall and winter. If SARS follows the traditional appearance pattern of influenza, I suspect we will see a lot more cases at that time."

Twenty senior officials from Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam visited Singapore on a 3-day study trip to learn from Singapore's experience in dealing with the SARS outbreak. After a stop at Tan Tock Seng Hospital to undergo temperature checks they visited Geylang Polyclinic. The visitors were then briefed by the Health Ministry and the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority on health screening, anti-SARS measures and other strategies used to fight SARS.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Singapore, has imposed a second level of checks to guard against transfer of SARS after initial border inspections. MOM says that as of Monday, June 9, 2003, employers will have to insure daily temperature checks for all workers in construction worksites, shipyards, factories having more than 25 workers and foreign worker dormitories.

SPRING Singapore on the Web-June 3, 2003.

The SPRING Singapore National Conference on Thermal Imagers for Fever Screening -(Selection, Usage and Testing), program, posted on their Metrology.org.sg Web site has been summarized with hot links to the presentations on our web site on the new page, "SARS-Thermal Imager". The presentations can be directly downloaded by using the links on either site.

Also note that the paper by Jim Sefferin, Director of the Infraspection Institute, given at the meeting, is available as a compressed zip file on the SPRING site, but is also now on the home page of the IR/INFO.org site.

Channel News Asia SINGAPORE: June 6

Malaysia's Secretary-General of Health ,Alias Ali, was shown by Singapore at the Causeway border crossing between Singapore and Malasia along with one of the six expensive thermal imagers in use. He says he has full confidence in the measures taken by Singapore. "I've always had high regard for Singapore and what Singapore has done. When I come here and go out of Singapore, I am very reassured you are still doing a good job and we are very appreciative of that".

Singapore's Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs, Tan Guong Ching said: "There'll be no let up in preventing the import or export of SARS, all our temperature taking practices continue. It's the only prudent thing to do because there's still SARS cases reported in the region."

Government and private companies continuing anti-SARS measures including thermal imaging screening at government buildings and hotels in addition to airport and border crossings.

Taiwan is distributing free thermometers as part of their campaign against SARS.

Officials want everyone to take their temperature twice a day during the ten-day campaign. Ten days is believed to be the incubation period of the virus.

Some local governments are offering prizes for people who finish the 10-day temperature check.

VOA News 1June 2003
China to Improve SARS Detection Measures with agreement with Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.

In the past few months, China has screened 12.5 million arriving and departing passengers, sending nearly 400 people to hospitals for observation and finding five confirmed SARS cases.

SPRING Singapore on the Web-May 31, 2003.

SPRING Singapore posts the visual presentations from a May 30th National Conference on Thermal Imagers for Fever Screening -(Selection, Usage and Testing), on their Metrology.org.sg Web site.

Schools in Singapore have implemented a new temperature regime for pupils who are 12 years old and below from May 30th.

Omega Engineering Will NOT SELL Industrial IR Thermometers for SARS Screening use!

Alert Published on the Omega Engineering Web site includes the following statements that are in concert with the findings published by SPRING Singapore. (see article below)

"All OMEGA's IR devices are intended for scientific, technical and industrial purposes ONLY. They are NOT to be used as a diagnostic tool in relation to the SARS epidemic, since they are NOT designed for, intended to, or capable of measuring human body temperature."

"Please Also Note:
"Equipment sold by OMEGA is not intended to be used, nor shall it be used: (1) as a "Basic Component" under 10 CFR 21 (NRC), used in or with any nuclear installation or activity; or (2) in medical applications or used on humans, or misused in any way."

Note: Omega does not sell Infrared Thermal Imaging Systems.

SPRING Singapore announces a May 30th Conference onNational Conference on 
Thermal Imagers for Fever Screening
- Selection, Usage and Testing The conference is aimed at providing timely information on the state-of-the-art technology for body temperature measurement and devices, especially thermal imaging systems, and the evaluation of such systems for fever detection, which is essential for SARS screening. It will also provide the users and suppliers an opportunity for exchanging, updating and sharing information on various systems and their applications.

The Conference will be held in the Singapore Sheraton Towers from 9:00am to 5:00pm May 30, 2003.

A on-line registration package is available for download.

Results of Tests Conducted by SPRING Singapore on Thermometers and Thermal Imagers Now Include Thermal Imagers.

SPRING Singapore has tested 3 more types of temperature measuring devices, in addition to the report below in a May 13th Channel News Asia article.
This new report covers contact clinical oral and forehead strip thermometers, (spot) Industrial Infrared Thermometers and five different Temperature-Measuring Thermal Imaging Systems. The conclusions were that the clinical thermometers were adequate while the the Industrial IR thermometers were not.
Four of the five Imaging systems that used a reference of thermal source and detected differences above the reference were found to have adequate sensitivitity and stability to be used for mass screening purposes. Follow up (verification) with another, more precise clinical thermometer is a necessary second step to confirm the results of a screening.

Straits Times Asia- May 25, 2002
The World Health Organisation (WHO), impressed with how Singapore has coped with SARS and its demonstrated expertise, wants The Singapore Republic to become a full member of its global alert and response network.

Although Sars is the main item on the infectious disease map today, an Ebola outbreak is occuring now in The Republic of Congo. It is important that more countries share the workload and expertise in dealing with infectious diseases and the related public health issues.
Under WHO's auspices, Britain provided 11 public-health experts and the USA sent more than 30 to help SARS-stricken countries including Singapore.

May 21,2003 Unconfirmed reports on CANADA Health trials of three competitive thermal imaging systems at Vancouver International Airport (see brief article two blocks below) tell about accuracy tests conducted on the three different systems using the same Infrared Blackbody calibration source. These comparisons resulted in one system showing calibration bias of 0.1°C, the second of +2.4 °C and another of +4 °C.

Clearly the accuracy of human body temperature screening results must begin with an instrument having a calibration bias less than the desired discrimination of about 0.25 °C. Some amount of equpiment standardization is obviously needed as are standardized testing practices. There is nothing technically new in this area and this example illustrates the need for objective standards development in both the performance and use of Infrared Thermal Imagers like those that exist for ear thermometers.

Israel installs thermal scanners at Tel Aviv international Airport.
"Travellers whose body temperature is over 38 degrees and who arrived from one of the high-risk countries will be subject to further testing. If necessary, the travellers will be taken to hospital," Israel's Health Ministry said in a statement

Singapore sends two thermal scanners to Beijing Capital Airport, ventilators to help China fight SARS. Singapore agencies are working with WHO to provide SARS test kits and training to China.

CORRECTION TO AN EARLIER REPORT

Channel News Asia May 13, 2003 "Oral thermometers the most accurate, says Spring Singapore" (SPRING is the National Measurement Laboratory of Singapore.)
"Hospitals still use oral and not ear measurement as their standard as this is the most accurate. Our test results indicate that oral thermomteters whether disposable, digital or liquid-in-glass, have an accuracy of plus or minus 0.1 degrees Celcius."according to Chief Executive, Lee Suan Hiang.

The rest of the article goes on to describe the accuracy of ear thermometers(± 0.2°C) (ear units with broken or dirty covers can skew readings by more than 3 degrees), industrial thermometer (±3 °C), strip thermometers (±1°C), and a new model -- the clinical forehead thermometer (more expensive clinical model than digital ear thermometers but less intrusive and equally accurate.)(refer to the description on our SARSSENSORS page under Exergen Corp)

A Rush of Products Ready (or Not) to Fight SARS? Washington Post-May 10, 2003
A brief article about some of the unusual items being offered to the public to help combat SARS. among them are comments about IR temperature-measuring devices that contain at least a germ of truth. In essence the article states that some governments in Asia have placed infrared detectors at airports to screen for elevated body temperatures as people pass. Sceptically, the article says that such detectors have proven useful as quality monitoring devices in manufacturing, but there is not a lot of evidence that they can reliably distinguish a person carrying a virus.

While that note is literally true, the facts belie the implied scepticism. Such devices, if properly characterized and used can distinguish a person with an elevated surface temperature in a group of people with "normal" temperatures as many of images and claims made by many organizations, are seen on our SARSSENSORs page. Subsequent check for fever with an oral or ear thermometer can settle the question. The real concerns are cases where the screening cameras indicate false negatives, implying that a person with a fever does not have one.

FLIR Systems, Inc. In its ITC Newsletter of May 7,2003, says that "..it has received orders for over 50 cameras for use at airports, hospitals and other locations in Taiwan and Korea. These cameras will be used to help detect fever, a possible precursor to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The cameras can accurately measure temperature and can be programmed to detect body temperature."

There were no details or model and software features and specs described.

The SARS banner from the FLIR web site and in the ITC May 2003 Newsletter

May 9 Singapore Channel News Asia-May 9 Two different thermal scanning sytems are deployed at Changi Airport, bringing to 29 the number of thermal imaging systems in use at Singapore's land, air and sea checkpoints. The scanner used to screen travellers at Changi Airport is jointly developed by Singapore's Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA), and ST Electronics. "This system deployed at the airport does not convert infra red energy into a temperature reading. It captures the raw IR radiation and compares it with a preset raw IR energy level," according to Teo Chee Wah, programme manager, sensor division, DSTA.

The device used to screen ground crew and other staff, is a commercially available radiometric thermal scanner. This is a different device with a wide temperature measurement span from 0 to 1000 °C and may have some measuring errors at the limits.

The other systems in use are not discussed.

Singapore Local News from Channelnews.com May 1, 2003
Two airline passengers were found as SARS-suspect cases through thermal scanning at Changi Airport.

China Daily- Bejing April 29,2003 Authorities Monday released details of 10 epidemic control measures now in place in Beijing to combat severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Among these are two temperature monitoring controls:
Enhance quarantine measures for travellers by air, train and road.
The Beijing Transportation Commission, Beijing Municipal Health Bureau, Beijing Public Security Bureau, the North China Branch of the Civil Aviation Administration and the Beijing Railway Bureau have organized joint inspection teams for airports, railway stations, long-distance bus terminals and highway checkpoints in Beijing.

Inbound and outbound travellers, as well as those checking in at hotels, are required to fill health declaration forms and have their body temperature taken. Travellers showing symptoms of fever must be sent to the health post and suspected patients will be transferred to the designated hospitals as soon as possible.

Colleges and universities, vocational and technical schools, primary and secondary schools, kindergartens and nurseries in Beijing must make the health of students their top priority.

Educational institutions must strictly implement prevention measures by taking the temperature of students on a daily basis, disinfecting public places such as classrooms, labs, canteens and dorms, cancelling all big lectures and gatherings.

From Hindustan Times-April 28, 2003: Singapore:
To prevent SARS from spreading, the government said it would use state-of-the-art thermal imaging scanners at its border with Malaysia and at the city-state's airport to screen people for signs of the disease.
Passengers who show up on the camera screen as "hot bodies," or with a temperature greater than 37.5 °C (99.5°F), will be pulled aside for further health checks.
"There will now be 100 percent screening for all (outbound) passengers from SARS-affected areas, including Singapore," said Transport Minister Yeo Cheow Tong. Screening for all passengers arriving from SARS-hit countries has already begun.

The credit for the initial thermal scanners was given to Singapore Technologies organization, a systems company with many military specialties.

More likely the thermal imagers are used in a relative mode to detect those who appear significantly hotter, about 0.5 Degree C than the average person.

Most likely the infrared ear thermometer type sensor is being used on screened candidates, since it is quick and generally quite accurate. Some models of ear therometers can repeat to within 0.2°C.

Please note that Cathay Pacific states they will not carry a passenger with a fever of 37.5°C or above on any of their flights regardless of local government regulations.