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Date Published: 21/06/2022

ARCHIVED - Dogs beat PCR tests at detecting Covid in asymptomatic patients

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

The animals sniffed out coronavirus cases 48 hours before a positive PCR test

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Dogs beat PCR tests at detecting Covid in asymptomatic patients

A dog’s sense of smell can be up to 100,000 times more powerful than that of humans, the very reason trained canines are used to patrol our airports and sniff out luggage for drugs and other counterfeit items.

But a recent study conducted by the National School of Veterinary Medicine in Maisons-Alfort in France has taken this further and established that dogs’ extraordinary senses can be used to detect diseases like coronavirus.

The researchers trained the animals to identify Covid through people's sweat, and the dogs correctly detected 97% of the cases which had been diagnosed through PCR testing. Furthermore, they were able to identify 31 cases of coronavirus from 192 asymptomatic patients who had tested negative in antigen tests.

The findings suggest that dogs can detect Covid cases up to 48 hours before people test positive by PCR.

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“This is evidence that dogs could be effective for mass screening efforts in places like airports or concerts and can provide friendly alternatives to test people who are resistant to nasal swabs,” explained Dominique Grandjean, a veterinarian at the National School of Veterinary Medicine of Alfort.

The good news is that dogs like to be given a job to do and particularly enjoy sniffing, so training them to recognise coronavirus was “like a game,” according to the researcher, who said it took between three and six weeks to fully train the animals. This was done by allowing the dogs to sniff cones containing sweat samples from the armpits of volunteers, but face masks also worked well.

While some doctors, scientists and government officials remain sceptical, the results of the study are compelling, and those responsible believe it is not such a huge leap from airport detection to disease recognition.

Also of interest: The dangerous Leishmaniasis disease affects 6 out of 10 dogs in Spain

Image: National School of Veterinary Medicine of Alfort

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