May24, 2021

Anna Murray 

A team of scientists completed Phase 1 of a trial project in collaboration with the Milton Keynes training center of the cutting-edge research group Medical Detection Dogs and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine at Durham University. On May 23, they published their findings, demonstrating that dogs may be able to smell and identify COVID-19 infection.

The study trained six bio-detection dogs to identify 3,250 positive and negative odor samples collected from asymptomatic adults with COVID-19 infection. The study's goal is to create an effective, fast, and non-invasive diagnostic for bio-detection dogs that will most likely detect any individuals infected with COVID-19 at ports of entry and large gatherings.

Numerous studies have shown that dogs can detect small changes in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by the diseased human body. Dogs have already been trained as biosensors to detect cancer in patient samples, to alert diabetics, and to detect malaria in human odor.

According to the report, the dogs correctly detected 88 percent of COVID-19 infected cases after six to eight weeks of training. However, they misidentified 16% of people who were not infected with the COVID-19 virus.

In the next stage of the investigation, scientists will test dogs sniffing scents on infected people rather than clothing and mask samples. However, there are concerns that COVID-19 can infect these working dogs, putting them and their handlers at risk.

Photo:webshot.