Dasara fever? Stay away

To check the spread of swine flu, the district administration plans to screen visitors with thermal imagers and will quarantine those with high fever

To check the spread of swine flu, the district administration plans to screen visitors with thermal imagers and will quarantine those with high fever

THINK you're hot? Then don't go to Mysore this Dasara.

The district administration is installing five thermal imagers to screen visitors as part of its precautions against swine flu. Those with high fever will be quarantined immediately, said professor M N Shrihari, advisor to the district administration.

To be scanned

With over 6 lakh visitors expected this Dasara, organisers have decided to scale down festivities slated to begin on September 19 due to the H1N1 virus.

Initially, five imagers will be installed in places that draw huge crowds. This includes the procession area and Mysore palace. With each device costing over Rs 6 lakh, theu00a0 complete installation will cost a whopping Rs 30 lakh.

A team of five doctors will be attached to the exercise.

How it works

Flu detector: Thermal imagers use infra-red radiation to detect higher temperature in a body

Thermal imagers, now installed in places like BIA and select IT companies in the city after the H1N1 outbreak, work based on thermal radiation in infrared range.

The surveillance device consists of a thermal imager installed on a tripod and connected to a video output which, in turn, is connected to an LCD monitor.

The imager detects high temperature based on emissivity (a material's ability to emit heat) of individuals passing through.

The set-up is part of passive thermography, which is used mainly for surveillance and medical diagnosis.

"The system is extremely useful in checking pandemic diseases like H1N1," said Shobha Karandlaje, minister in charge of Mysore district. "It's helpful as screening is done with no contact to the device. Since it can screen visitors on the move and since temperature reading is available immediately, more people can be screened without delay."