Dogs were highly successful in identifying individuals with COVID-19, researchers found, showing dogs could once again help save the day with their sniffers.
A study published this week found that dogs correctly identified coronavirus-positive samples 76% to 100% of the time, adding to a growing pile of evidence that shows these animals can accurately detect the virus.
The researchers included six detection dogs — three explosive detection dogs, one search and rescue dog and two colon cancer detection dogs — in the study. The dogs were trained to distinguish sweat samples from symptomatic COVID-19-positive individuals and from asymptomatic and COVID-19-negative individuals.
For the study, researchers collected underarm sweat samples from 177 individuals, 95 of whom were symptomatic and COVID-19-positive, and 82 of whom were asymptomatic and who tested negative for the coronavirus.
The dog-training sessions lasted between one and three weeks. When trained, the dog had to mark the positive COVID-19 samples randomly placed behind one of three or four “olfactory cones,” which contained at least one negative coronavirus sample. Neither the dog nor its handler knew the location of the coronavirus-positive sample.
The researchers hypothesize that when the coronavirus is in human cells, it generates particular volatile organic compounds that can show up in sweat, breath, urine, tears, saliva and stools that dogs could possibly detect.
While the study results show that detection dogs might be able to detect who has COVID-19 and who doesn’t, the researchers said the “proof-of-concept” study had limitations and needed confirmation with further studies.
The study was conducted at two sites, in Paris, France, and in Beirut, Lebanon. Many nations around the world, including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Chile and Argentina, are already training dogs to pre-screen for the virus and perform rapid checking among large groups of people, according to Science Alert.
A pilot study in Finland found that dogs at Helsinki Airport detected COVID-19 almost 100% of the time.
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