KUALA LUMPUR: Thermal scanners to detect possible mpox cases have been installed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1, just before travellers pass through Immigration counters.
The Health Ministry told the New Straits Times travellers do not need to stop for scanning as they can simply walk past the scanners on their way to the airport's immigration counters.
Monitors linked to the scanners, manned by KLIA personnel, detect whether travellers passing by are exhibiting high temperatures.
Those who are identified with high temperatures will be stopped and subjected to further testing by Health Ministry personnel at a dedicated health screening centre near gate C22.
Previously, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad had stated that every traveller arriving on international flights would be screened by thermal scanners as part of tightened screening procedures to mitigate the risk of mpox transmission.
"If anyone exhibits symptoms such as a high temperature, blistered skin, or swollen glands, they will be given a health alert card and referred to the nearest healthcare facility," he said after conducting an on-site inspection at KLIA Terminal 1 yesterday.
Mpox was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organisation for the second time on Aug 14.
The spread of the clade IIb virus began in 2022 and continues to this day, affecting several countries in Africa.