Epidemiol Health.  2014;36:e2014004. 10.4178/epih/e2014004.

Fever Screening and Detection of Febrile Arrivals at an International Airport in Korea: Association among Self-reported Fever, Infrared Thermal Camera Scanning, and Tympanic Temperature

• Cho KS
• Yoon J

• KMID: 2380548
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4178/epih/e2014004

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this research was to measure fever prevalence and the effectiveness of a fever screening procedure in detecting febrile arrivals at an international airport in Korea.
METHODS
Data were retrieved from arrivals' health declaration forms and questionnaires for febrile arrivals at an international airport collected by a national quarantine station during the year 2012. Self-reported health declaration forms were returned by 355,887 arrivals (61% of the total arrivals). Of these, 608 symptomatic arrivals (0.2%) including 6 febrile arrivals were analyzed.
RESULTS
Fever prevalence at an international airport in Korea was 0.002%. Self-reported fever was significantly positively associated with tympanic temperature (p<0.001). The difference between the thermal camera temperature (36.83degreesC) and tympanic (or ear) temperature (38.14degreesC) was not statistically significant.
CONCLUSIONS
The findings imply that a procedure for mass detection of fever such as self-reported questionnaires and thermal camera scanning may serve as an effective tool for detecting febrile arrivals at quarantine stations. Future research can benefit from looking at the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the entry screening system.

Keyword

Fever; Prevalence; Body temperature; Health records; Quarantine

MeSH Terms

Airports*
Body Temperature
Fever*
Hospitals, Isolation
Korea
Mass Screening*
Prevalence
Quarantine
Sensitivity and Specificity
Surveys and Questionnaires