Mysterious Pneumonia Outbreak In China, Airport prompt Fever Screening

HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - A mysterious pneumonia outbreak that has sickened dozens of people in China has prompted airports in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan to introduce fever screening, as scientists search for the infectious source.

From Friday (Jan 3) evening, temperature screening will be implemented at Changi Airport for all travellers arriving from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, Singapore's Ministry of Health said.
In Hong Kong, thermal imaging systems will be deployed as part of increased fever surveillance at boundary checkpoints, authorities said.
Taiwan has implemented similar measures, its Centre for Disease Control said Tuesday.
Several clinics and hospitals in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, received patients suffering from pneumonia, officials announced on New Year's Eve.
Twenty-seven people associated with a fresh seafood and produce market fell ill with symptoms, including fever and shortness of breath. Seven were in serious condition and the others were in stable condition, officials in Hong Kong said on Thursday.
The market, which has since been closed, sold birds, pheasants, and snakes, along with organs of rabbits and other wildlife, the Centre for Infectious Disease Research and Policy in Minneapolis said on Thursday, citing local media reports.
That has triggered worries about the potential jump of an unknown virus to humans - reminiscent of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or Sars, which killed almost 800 people about 17 years ago.
The World Health Organisation said it has activated an incident management team over the Wuhan cases to "ensure disease detection systems are sensitive, communication channels are open, and reporting is rapid across the region," the South China Morning Post reported.
Investigations are still under way and authorities haven't yet confirmed the pathogen that is causing the illness, Ms Paige Snider, a WHO spokeswoman, told the paper.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology didn't respond to an e-mailed request for comment on the infectious source.

The Straitstimes

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