Hundreds of military doctors, paramedics and nurses will be deployed at all major Malaysian airports to screen passengers for SARS, a report said today.

The defence ministry had agreed to the plan during a meeting of the national Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) control meeting, said the health ministry's deputy director-general Dr Mohd Ismail Merican.

"We hope to get figures of how many people they can provide by next Monday," he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times newspaper.

Tough measures

Ismail said the deployment of military personnel was necessary to ensure stringent screening of passengers from Sars-affected countries.

Malaysia has taken a series of tough measures to contain the spread of the deadly virus.

On Monday, health officials said that students from Sars-hit countries and Filipino workers will be placed under a 10-day quarantine when they arrive in Malaysia.

Two people have died from seven Sars infections in Malaysia and there has been a major impact o­n business.