Thermometer guns use infrared technology to screen for fever. These thermometer guns can be seen in some airports or on the streets of China to detect patients who may have the Covid-19.
Not all Covid-19 Patients Have Fever
The problem with temperature screening is that not all patients with the Covid-19 may have a fever. Some will have symptoms similar to an upper respiratory infection like a sinus headache, sore throat, sneezing, cough, or runny nose.
In a previous article, Walking Coronavirus Pneumonia Can Spread the Disease, a family from Hong Kong visited Wuhan China. Not all of them had the classic symptoms of pneumonia or lung infection. Still, on the CT scan of the chest, all of them had Covid-19 pneumonia, and they tested positive with the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction test, RT-PCR.
Even the 10-year-old who did not have any symptoms had viral pneumonia in the lungs and also tested positively for Covid-19. Much to the surprise of the investigators. The CT-scan was done because upon the request of the anxious parents.
Thermometer Guns are Inconsistent
In an interview with the New York Times, Dr. James Lawler said,
“These devices are notoriously not accurate and reliable,” said Dr. James Lawler, a medical expert at the University of Nebraska’s Global Center for Health Security. “Some of it is quite frankly for show.”
Proper Technique is needed All the Time to Make Thermal Guns Screen Accurately
A distance of 3 to 15 cm, depending on the make and model of the infrared thermometer, is needed to get the right temperature. If it is too far or the time scanning is too short, then the results become inaccurate.
Temperature Screening can be Avoided
Someone who has a fever may take an antipyretic before disembarking from a plane or just take it round the clock to suppress the high temperature.
In a study of external thermometers, “The accuracy of handheld infrared skin thermometers were favored by three studies but also unfavored by three studies.”
Conclusion
Using a thermometer gun to screen for Covid-19 carriers is ineffective and can allow many asymptomatic carriers to pass thru.
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Don’t Get Sick!
Related Readings:
- The 2019-nCoV Can Still Spread from A Patient After the Sickness
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- You Can Become Infected by the Coronavirus Thru the Eyes!
- 10 Reasons Why the Wuhan Coronavirus Pneumonia is a Nightmare
- Walking Coronavirus Pneumonia Can Spread the Disease
- Coronavirus Infection Precautions
- To Know What’s in Wuhan is to Know Why Coronavirus is a Concern
- Anti Coronavirus Herbs and Drugs
- Wuhan Coronavirus Virus Compared to other Viruses
Image Credit:
By CDC/ Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAM – This media comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Public Health Image Library (PHIL), with identification number #23312. Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=86444014
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