Call for ‘odour samples’ in sniffer dog trial

People with mild coronavirus symptoms in the north-west of England are being encouraged to participate in a trial which aims to see whether dogs can sniff out Covid-19.

Testing has begun to see whether medical detection dogs can also be trained to smell the disease.

Scientists are seeking “odour samples” from people in the region to see whether dogs can accurately pick up the scent of Covid-19, even in people who are asymptomatic.

There could be huge implications if the dogs can successfully smell out Covid-19, not just in medical settings but in other sectors of society too, with researchers estimating the animals could potentially screen up to 250 people an hour.

As part of the trial, led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in collaboration with the charity Medical Detection Dogs and Durham University, people in the north-west – where there has been a rise in cases – are being asked to contribute.

Patients who have mild Covid-19 symptoms and are due to have a swab test, or have had a swab test conducted in the previous 24 hours, are being recruited by researchers.

The volunteers will provide samples of breath and body odour by wearing a mask for three hours, and nylon socks and a T-shirt for 12 hours.

Researchers hope to collect 325 positive and 675 negative samples in order to fully test the dogs for accuracy.

LSHTM researchers will analyse the samples to identify compounds in odour that signify when someone is infected.

The samples will then be sent to the Medical Detection Dogs’ training centre in Milton Keynes where the animals will undergo training to identify the virus samples.

There could be huge implications if the dogs can successfully smell out Covid-19