In the wake of the 2014 Ebola Viral Disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa and its spread to Nigeria, a declaration of an Ebola emergency was made in Lagos State. The Federal Government of Nigeria implemented a rapid response to contain the spread of the disease using all available public health assets. Handheld Thermal scanners were deployed to all airports and were used to screen passengers as they disembarked from aircraft and on departure. This was pertinent because high body temperature is one of the symptoms of ebola viral disease and this process provided the first line measure in screening for and later detecting the virus.
Project Goal
To build the capacity of Port Health Service staff and other relevant stakeholders on the installation and use of thermal Imaging Scanners.
Objectives
- Understanding the basic concepts of thermal imaging
- Understanding the applications of thermal imaging with a focus on medical and veterinary applications
- Highlight the advantages of the thermal imaging cameras over the conventional handheld temperature scanner
Related Activities
- Training of a pool of staff from the Port Health Services and other concerned authorities on proper installation and use of thermal scanning systems.
- Practical mounting of the thermal imaging camera and using the equipment to scan the body temperature of a person and read the result