Assuming that Covid-19 alters our body odor, researchers hope to train dogs to identify people with the virus. This would also apply to asymptomatic individuals.
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Training dogs to detect people with Covid-19: this is the idea of Medical Detection Dogs. The English association will carry out its work in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and thedurham university (UK). This is the same team that proved that dogs can be trained to detect with very high accuracy. smells from people with malaria.
“Respiratory diseases like Covid-19 change our body odor”
The researchers had previously trained the dogs at Medical Detection Dogs to screen for Parkinson’s disease, as well as certain cancers and bacterial infections. The learning had been carried out from samples that the animals had to sniff in order to indicate to the members of the association which ones came from an infected person. The dogs were also able to detect slight changes in skin temperature, and therefore could potentially tell if someone had a fever.
“We know that respiratory diseases like Covid-19 change our body odor; it is therefore very likely that dogs will be able to detect it”says Professor James Logan, head of the department of disease control at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, in a statement published on the Medical Detection Dogs website.
Screen everyone, even asymptomatic people
“In principle, we are sure that dogs can detect Covid-19assures Claire Guest, president and co-founder of the association. We are now looking at how we can safely capture the smell of the virus on patients and present it to dogs..”
Objective: to make dogs able to examine everyone, including asymptomatic people. They could thus flag individuals who need to be tested. “It would be fast, effective, non-invasive and it would ensure that the limited means of the National Health Service (the English public health system, Editor’s note) in terms of tests are used only when they are really necessary”continues Claire Guest.
Airport screenings
The team has already started intensive training so that the dogs will be ready in six weeks. She also contacted the British government to let them know of her approach. “This new diagnostic tool could revolutionize our response to Covid-19 in the short term, but also in the months to come, and could have a considerable impact”rejoices James Logan.
In particular, the researchers hope that the animals will be used in airports at the end of the epidemic to prevent the disease from resurfacing.
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