The Standard – China’s Business Newspaper — If you travel in Asia you see these sensors at all the airports. Someone recently told me they were useless — “window dressing.” Now I read this report.

Temperature-measuring devices placed at border checkpoints may not prove reliable as an initial measure aimed at preventing travelers with fever – one of the chief symptoms of bird flu – from entering the territory, researchers at the University of Hong Kong warned.

Fears of a bird flu pandemic, as well as the possible return of SARS and other epidemics, have heightened the need for more stringent screening of passengers at border crossings and airports.

Health chief York Chow said earlier that, although the chance of a local outbreak remains low, he fears travelers from infected areas will bring the bird flu virus to Hong Kong.

Currently, remote-sensing infrared cameras are used at several checkpoints to check for signs of fever among travelers.