Dogs excel in Covid trials

Airport sniffer dogs are highly adept at detecting the coronavirus, according to the first published results from a trial in Finland. Researchers said that in future pandemics dogs could be used ‘‘as the sole testing method when other approaches are not yet available’’. A team of dogs at an airport in Helsinki were able to match the results of PCR tests 98 per cent of the time. The team behind the study, published in the online journal BMJ Global Health, said it showed sniffer dogs could ‘‘provide a valuable tool to contain the pandemic’’. Using dogs offered ‘‘an approach not confined to laboratories, enabling large sample numbers with results in real time’’.