CDC Infection Control Outbreaks

Study Shows How Rapid Fever Screening Stops Infection Spread

Stopping infection before it enters, is the new practice recommended for healthcare professionals.

Abstract

Some of the most communicable infectious diseases present with fever when they are most contagious.  Diseases like flu, norovirus, Ebola, measles and tuberculosis all pose a threat to travelers, hospital patients, and ordinary citizens when the disease carrier boards an airplane, enters a hospital ward or simply handles food in a busy restaurant. For those people who do not heed the advice of the Centers for Disease Control of “stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick,” we need a system of early detection in place to help prevent the spread of disease.

An accurate, self­ service screening system can also be an effective tool for public health departments, enabling them to obtain an actual assay of the specific disease for which a patient may require immediate quarantine or treatment, allowing for the best possible health outcome. Such measures greatly reduce both the spread and the evolution of many contagious diseases.

Long term public health could be positively impacted with the identification, tracking and monitoring of illnesses. The collection of data will inform the need for preventative measures, including the development and promotion of vaccines, the development of improved personal hygiene and cleaning specifications and specific public health campaigns to identify the symptoms, signs and dangers of a particular disease.

Heller, R. (2017) The Need for Rapid Contagion Screening. InfectionControl.tips; Feb. 21, 2017.  http://infectioncontrol.tips/2017/02/21/need-for-rapid-contagion-screening/

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Additional Resources

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