Researchers in London are examining whether sniffer dogs could be effectively used to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. If these dogs can be successfully trained to detect the virus in people, this innovative approach could significantly enhance safety at airports and other points of entry.
A collaborative team from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Medical Detection Dogs, and Durham University is leading the groundbreaking research. They have previously demonstrated that dogs can be trained to detect diseases such as malaria. The ongoing training aims to provide rapid and non-invasive COVID-19 diagnosis through these highly skilled canines. They anticipate that the dogs could screen up to 250 individuals per hour, complementing existing testing methods.
Currently, six dogs – Norman, Digby, Storm, Star, Jasper, and Asher – are under assessment, with half of them being rescue dogs. Training methodologies for detecting COVID-19 are akin to those used for other diseases like cancer and Parkinson’s. Researchers are investigating whether COVID-19 emits a specific odor, subsequently training the dogs to identify infected samples. Furthermore, these trained animals can detect subtle changes in skin temperature, thereby potentially indicating if an individual has a fever.
Dr. Claire Guest, CEO and co-founder of Medical Detection Dogs, states, “The samples that the dogs will be trained on at the centre will be deactivated (dead) virus and therefore of no risk to the dogs or handlers. When sniffing people, the dogs will not need to make contact but will sniff the air around a person. The dogs will therefore not be in direct contact with the people screened to prevent the risk of spreading the virus.”
A fundraiser has been established to support this vital research. Researchers believe that these trained detection dogs could be invaluable at ports of entry or deployed in various public venues. “If the research is successful, we could utilize COVID-19 detection dogs at airports at the end of the epidemic to rapidly identify individuals carrying the virus,” says Professor Steve Lindsay at Durham University. This would play a critical role in preventing the re-emergence of the disease once the current epidemic is controlled.