Jakarta airport screens for coronavirus

Indonesia is screening travellers from overseas for a new type of coronavirus as fears spread about a mysterious infectious disease.

Thermal imaging equipment to detect abnormal body temperatures was installed at 38 Indonesian airports, including in the capital Jakarta and Bali, and seaports in Bintan and Batam islands, near Singapore, said Health Ministry's Director General of Disease Control and Prevention Anung Sugihantono.

He said authorities will interview travellers, especially from China and Hong Kong, who have ia temperature of 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit), followed by a health check.

China has identified 440 cases with nine deaths.  People in Wuhan have been advised not to leave the city and to avoid crowds.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some of which cause the common cold. Others found in bats, camels and other animals have evolved into more severe illnesses.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shortness of breath, chills and body aches are associated with more dangerous kinds of coronaviruses. Common symptoms include a runny nose, headache, cough and fever.

Almost two million Chinese tourists visit Indonesia every year.

The ministry has also instructed hospitals to conduct early detection, prevention, and quick response for patients found to be symptomatic with pneumonia akin to the cases in China.

Its website is advising Indonesian travelers to China, including Hong Kong, Wuhan and Beijing, to take precautions such as avoiding fish markets or places where live animals are sold.

China says the cause of the Wuhan outbreak remains unknown, but has sought to quash speculation that it could be a reappearance of the SARS epidemic, which killed hundreds in 2002 and 2003.

Indonesia has not yet reported any local coronavirus infections but the country was the world's hot spot for avian influenza, both in birds and in humans, peaking in 2006 and 2007 with 146 deaths reported to the World Health Organization.