Researchers train dogs to detect COVID-19 in humans
Imagine a dog doing the work of a doctor or a virologist testing for coronavirus COVID-19 in humans. The dogs will just sniff as you pass by and backs if you have coronavirus.
Would that not be good and bring relief to many developing countries were test kits are very hard to come by and results take days even weeks to get.
Some researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine are looking for ways to use dogs to detect or test coronavirus in humans.
If the project is successful, the animal detectives could be working across Britain soonr.
James Logan, head of LSHTM’s Department of Disease Control speaking on the project which is in it early stages said “We know diseases have odors — including respiratory diseases such as influenza — and that those odors are in fact quite distinct. There is a very, very good chance that Covid-19 has a specific odor, and if it does I am really confident that the dogs would be able to learn that smell and detect it.”
Some of these dogs according to reports already know how to sniff out malaria as people infected with malaria smell more attractive to mosquitoes than those that are not infected and some dogs have been trained to detect this odour with excellent reliability
Breaking: Nigeria reports 87 new cases of COVID-19
If dogs can be used to readily identify malaria-infected individuals they could be used as ‘detection dogs’ at ports of entry which is routine for drugs and biological materials such as food, screening travellers entering areas that are malaria free but susceptible to re-invasion. according to medicaldetectiondogs.
Dogs’ abilities do not stop at odour detection according to study dogs are able to detect subtle changes in temperature of the skin. It is, therefore, possible that dogs could not only detect the change in odour of a person infected with COVID-19, but also detect the presence of individuals with a slightly raised temperature.
A super six pack! ??????
— London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (@LSHTM) April 18, 2020
Hmm, something this writer doesn’t have. More ?♂️ less ?
Great to be working with @MedDetectDogs and @durham_uni on this exciting project.
? these amazing dogs can sniff out #COVID19 https://t.co/m6BseTQSzG
