A Japanese manufacturer of thermographs is being flooded with inquiries from trading houses and overseas companies for an infrared camera system that has been installed at major airports because of the SARS scare this year.

At Narita and other international airports in Japan, thermographs are used to check the body surface temperature of passengers by recording infrared light radiating from their bodies in a bid to detect variations that can indicate a fever.

At the quarantine booths at Narita, for example, officials watch thermographic images of all passengers arriving from abroad.