Covid-19: dogs capable of sniffing out the coronavirus

This is a surprising new study that has appeared in the scientific journal Plos One. Researchers have tried to demonstrate the ability of sniffer dogs to detect Covid-19.

Dogs are endowed with a keen sense of smell. They are able to detect certain cancers, save human lives and smell explosives. They could also have an important role in detecting breast cancer, and more recently, Covid-19. Their exceptional olfactory faculty would therefore be of great help in the context of the coronavirus epidemic. It was Professor Dominique Grandjean, who works at the National Veterinary School of Alfort, who carried out the research, in collaboration with other professionals from the learned world. The team investigated whether dogs can distinguish between sweat samples from individuals who are positive for Covid-19 and those from negative, and therefore asymptomatic, individuals. The study was conducted in Paris and Beirut, Lebanon. She has involved six detection dogs, including three that can detect explosive compounds, a search and rescue dog and two colon cancer detection dogs. On the other hand, 177 volunteers were recruited, including 95 positive for Sars-Cov-2 and 82 negative people. A sweat sample was collected from everyone’s armpits.

Sweat, but also urine, breath, saliva and feces contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can be detected by dogs, as demonstrated by numerous scientific studies. On both sites, the same training and testing protocol was followed. The animals worked on a series of cones carrying the samples. Once the positive Covid-19 sample was detected by the animal, the dog would sit in front of it. As a reward, he got his toy for each correct marking. These tests were carried out in a room which contained 3 or 4 cones with a positive sample as well as a negative sample. According to the study’s authors, “ the success rate per dog varied from 76% to 100% “. This data is important, given that “ In a context where there is a lack of diagnostic tests available to perform mass detection of SARS-CoV-2, explore the possibility of using dog scent detection as a fast, reliable and inexpensive tool to pre-screen for people or performing a quick check in certain circumstances is important “.

Also note that two negative samples were repeatedly marked by the sniffer dogs. These results were quickly communicated to the hospital concerned. The two people from whom the samples were taken underwent PCR testing again, which ultimately revealed a Sars-Cov-2 infection. Scientists say sniffer dogs should be seen as a complementary prevention tool, when tests are unavailable or lacking in precision. The World Health Organization has joined forces with these researchers to carry out other trials: ” These results provide some evidence that detection dogs may be able to determine sweat samples from symptomatic COVID-19 individuals and those from negative individuals. However, due to the limitations of the study including the use of some COVID-19 samples more than once and the possible confounding bias, these results need to be confirmed in other studies. », Concluded the authors.