Sniffer dogs trained to detect Covid19
LONDON: Trained sniffer dogs can accurately identify airport passengers infected with coronavirus, new research suggests.
Scientists say this method of detection is likely to be especially valuable, not only in the early stages of a pandemic when other resources might not yet be available, but also to help contain an ongoing pandemic.
They said their findings highlighted the importance of continuous retraining as new Covid19 variants emerge.
Preliminary data suggested dogs could be trained within weeks to detect Covid19 infection, with a degree of accuracy similar to a nose and throat swab test.
A key finding was that the dogs were less successful at correctly identifying the alpha variant, as they had been trained to detect the wild type.
The researchers added: ‘‘This observation is remarkable as it proves the scent dogs’ robust discriminatory power . . .
‘‘Our preliminary observations suggest that dogs primed with one virus type can in a few hours be retrained to detect its variants.’’