‘ Sniffer dogs can detect malaria in people’

London: Scientists say they have trained dogs to sniff out tell- tale aromas of malaria using clothes from people infected with the deadly disease.

Freya, a Springer Spaniel, is one of the dogs who has been trained to sniff out the scent of malaria, said researchers from Durham University in the UK.

Freya’s highly sensitive nose could help provide the first non- invasive test for the disease, they said. Sniffer dogs could potentially be deployed at ports of entry to identify passengers carrying malaria to prevent the spread of the disease across borders and to ensure people receive timely antimalarial treatment.

Researchers found that dogs could scent malaria in samples of socks worn by infected children. “While our findings are at an early stage, in principle we have shown that dogs could be trained to detect malaria infected people by their odour with a credible degree of accuracy,” said Steve Lindsay, a professor at Durham University.

“This could provide a non- invasive way of screening for the disease at ports of entry in a similar way to how sniffer dogs are routinely used to detect fruit and vegetables or drugs at airports,” Lindsay said.

This could help prevent the spread of malaria. Using a simple finger- prick test the children were also screened to determine if they had malaria or not.