The police have long employed dogs to detect drugs or sniff out suspects on the run with their noses. But what if we told you that they could also detect COVID-19?
Earlier today, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) published a study regarding a dog’s ability to detect COVID-19 among 300 patients within half an hour, effectively shortening the queue at testing centres.
According to researchers, there is substantial evidence to suggest that dogs can detect COVID-19 with their noses, similar to how they detect bombs, drugs, or other diseases. This is thanks to pathogens that produce unique volatile organic compounds released by cells infected with COVID.
Researchers are hopeful that these distinctive odours can be used to fight the pandemic in a faster, cheaper, and non-invasive manner.
However, Professor James Logan, Head of the Department of Disease Control of LSHTM, noted that this method isn’t suitable for screening large crowds at airports or public places that require rapid testing.
“Nonetheless, we believe that dogs can be deployed promptly for screening to help control the pandemic at an earlier stage,” he said.
In the study, the dogs were able to detect two different strains of COVID among asymptomatic patients and those with low viral loads.
Coupled with subsequent nucleic acid testing, scientists say that the dogs could detect up to 91% of infections. This is the first double-blind trial of its kind with both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, but it has yet to be peer-reviewed.
The trial, conducted by LSHTM in collaboration with Medical Detection Dogs, and Durham University, was partially funded by the Department of Health. 3,500 body odour samples were also provided by members of the public and National Health Services (NHS)
Meanwhile, in Thailand, the government has deployed a squad of virus-tracking dogs to identify those infected with COVID-19.
The move is expected to help track down cases within the community, especially in crowded places and the slum areas, reported the Times of India.
Six dogs were trained by researchers from the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University to detect COVID-19 from the unique odour found in the sweat of infected patients.
Three dogs, Angel, Bobby, and Bravo, have tested more than 1,000 samples from college staff, students and the public since May 10. So far, the results have been excellent, with almost a 95% success rate
After a few seconds of sniffing a sweat sample placed in a steel container, the dog will detect which is from an individual infected with COVID-19. If the sample is infection-free, it will signal to researchers. If the sample is COVID-positive, the dog will sit in front of it.
Suwanna Thanaboonsombat, a volunteer tasked with bringing the samples to the laboratory, said the squad was an added value to those who could not go out for detection tests.
“People can now provide a sample of their sweat underneath their armpits using a cotton bud before sending it to the laboratory, and the results have been fairly accurate.”
“We also plan to send the dogs out to a community suspected to be a COVID-19 hotspot,” he said.
The furry squad will carry out their duties in a moving vehicle while officers collect and screen samples gathered from the community. Thai researchers said the container was specially designed to prevent the dog’s nose from contaminating the sample. They also believe that receptors within the dog’s respiratory tract cells are relatively invincible from the virus.
Do you believe in dogs as an effective COVID-19 detector?
Sources: Oriental Daily & Harian Metro
Editor: Raymond Chen
Proofreader: Sarah Yeoh
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