The coronavirus can manifest itself in several ways, sometimes producing a myriad of symptoms and other times without producing any. As it is not always so clear, testing is extremely important to determine who is actually infected. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 53 million people have been tested for coronavirus in the United States since the start of the pandemic. However, it turns out that testing may not be the only thing that can alert you if you have the coronavirus. According to a new study, dogs can tell if you have coronavirus as well as an exam.
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The German study from Hannover University of Veterinary Medicine found that dogs can distinguish samples of human saliva that are infected with the new coronavirus from those that are not 94 percent accurate, if properly trained.
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A small labrador retriever puppy picks up smells in a field on a bright summer day
For the study, which was published in the BMC infectious diseases On July 23, investigators trained eight dogs from the German Armed Forces for just one week. Dogs were ordered to sniff the saliva of more than 1,000 people infected and uninfected with COVID-19. The samples were randomly distributed, and neither the dogs nor their handlers knew if they were receiving an infected sample.
“We believe that dogs can detect a specific odor from the metabolic changes that occur in those patients.” Maren von Koeckritz-Blickwede, co-host of the study and professor at the university, said in a video about the research.
According to the study, since dogs can be trained relatively quickly, this detection method could “be used in public areas such as airports, sporting events, borders, and other mass gatherings” in addition to, or instead of, laboratory tests. After all, both methods apparently have similar levels of precision: rapid coronavirus tests using smear samples from the nose, throat, or saliva are only 93 percent accurate. The only test that has better results than the dog sniffing method is a deep nasal swab, which is 99 percent accurate.
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The study says there is still a lot to investigate when it comes to detecting coronaviruses in dogs. For example, not much is known about what happens when a dog contracts the coronavirus, although it is reportedly rare, and whether that can affect the dog’s sense of smell. But if all the limitations of the study could be further investigated, the authors note that for “countries with limited access to diagnostic tests, detection dogs could have the potential to be used for the mass detection of infected people.” And for more information on animals and coronaviruses, see These are the pets most likely to get coronavirus.
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