TOPLINE
Dogs used in a German research study were trained within a week to successfully detect, with 94 percent accuracy, saliva samples taken from Covid-19 patients, offering the possibility that they can be used in future large meetings to detect carriers of the disease.
A specially trained explosive detection dog wearing special dog sunglasses is seen in the Bundeswehr, … [+]
KEY FACTS
Researchers led by the Hannover University of Veterinary Medicine said eight specialized detection dogs were able to distinguish between samples from infected patients and uninfected controls.
After training, the dogs were able to correctly identify 94% of 1,012 saliva samples.
Tracker dogs are also routinely used in airports, sporting events, and other high-traffic areas, prompting the study authors to suggest that Covid-19 sniffer dogs could be used in similar settings.
Most of the transmission of the coronavirus comes from people who are asymptomatic and do not develop any signs of the virus, a senior official with the Department of Health and Human Services said last week, according to CNBC, meaning that dogs could detect carriers that They do not do it. I don’t know what they are carriers.
The study notes that dogs have also been used to detect various types of cancers, malaria, bacterial and viral infections.
Dogs have odor receptors up to 10,000 times more powerful and accurate than humans, according to CNBC, which previously reported on the study.
key background
Without a cure for Covid-19, epidemiologists and government officials have focused on trying to reduce the spread, which took off unhindered when states began reopening their economies. Researchers have looked at options such as batch testing for Covid-19, which may be less expensive than individual tests, and neighborhood-specific sewage tests to try to detect clusters.
Further reading
Trained dogs were able to detect Covid-19 infections with 94% accuracy: study (CNBC)
Sniffing the crown diagnosis (Hannover University of Veterinary Medicine)
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