Bali International Airport installs thermoscanners to monitor Zika virus

 The management of Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali has installed two thermoscanners to measure body temperatures, in a bid to prevent the spread of the feared Zika virus.

Arriving international passengers will be screened to determine whether they might be carrying the infection.

"We have put two thermoscanners at the international arrival terminals," General Manager of airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I, Trikora Harjo, said here on Friday.

Since the monitors were installed, the airport management has not discovered any passengers registering high body temperatures.

However, if passenger with high temperatures and possible carriers of the Zika virus are detected, plans call for them to be brought to an isolation room or nearest hospital.

"The installation of body temperature detectors is not only targeting passengers from certain countries where the virus has been discovered, but all passengers from different countries," Trikora explained.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared a global emergency in acting to control the outbreak of Zika virus.

Officials note that the virus has been spread by the Aedes aegepty mosquitos, causing high fevers and rashes among infected people.

In Jakarta, Health Minister Nila F Moeloek warned pregnant women to place mosquito netting in their bedrooms as protection from the Zika virus.

The spread of the virus-like dengue fever occurred in several countries in Africa, America, and Asia Pacific. 

Source: ANTARA