Temperature screening for air travellers coming from Mers-affected Middle East countries, including the worst-hit country Saudi Arabia, started on Sunday afternoon.

Passengers on six flights from the Middle East were screened on Sunday at Changi Airport as part of the Health Ministry's pre-emptive move to detect anyone who might have the Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers).

The passengers came from Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi, and the flights they were on belonged to three carriers - Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways.

The Straits Times understands that no one has been pulled aside for further temperature checks, so far.

There has been no cases of Mers in Singapore. Since the start of this year, there have been 48 suspected Mers cases here, but all tested negative.