Cruise ships have already put in place systems for screening passengers for signs of H1N1. For a long time now most cruise companies have required passengers to fill in questionnaires about their health and this summer most cruise liners have implemented checks for passengers exhibiting signs of illness who will then be subject to more thorough examination by medical officers on board cruise ships.

MSC Cruises, an Italian company has already started to use a thermal imaging camera to scan all of its passengers as they board. The cameras are in place across all eleven of the lines ships. The thermal camera looks for signs that a passenger’s body temperature is at an abnormally high temperature, one of the first signs that a person is infected by a virus.

Spokeswoman fir MSC Cruises, Cheryl Fenske said that the cameras were a useful and non intrusive way to check whether people were a risk. She said that they could check for even the earliest sign of infection. Along with checking people’s body temperatures and watching for external signs of the virus such as a runny nose, coughing and sneezing, Fenske said that all MSC Cruises now supply hand sanitizing lotion throughout public areas. The cruise lines in-cabin television service is also running a video called How to Stay Safe across its network to explain to passengers the best way to avoid contracting a virus.

The cruise line industry has not yet seen any major outbreaks of ‘flu and with autumn coming improved vigilance will hopefully keep it that way.