Dogs can be trained to identify 90% COVID cases even when patients are asymptomatic: Study

People infected with COVID-19 have a distinct odour that can be detected by a trained dog. According to new research, dogs can be trained to identify more than 90 per cent of coronavirus infections even when patients are asymptomatic. A team of scientists from The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine have conducted the study which is presently available to read as a pre-print. 

The study showed that COVID-19 infection has a distinct smell, which specially trained dogs can rapidly, non-invasively detect with up to 94.3 per cent sensitivity and up to 92 per cent specificity. According to the new study, the dogs were able to detect an odour from individuals who were asymptomatic, as well as those with two different strains. Dr Claire Guest, Chief Scientific Officer at Medical Detection Dogs, said that these dogs have shown phenomenal results in detecting the odour of human diseases and it would be helpful to combat the deadly virus.

"These fantastic results are further evidence that dogs are one of the most reliable biosensors for detecting the odour of human disease. Our robust study shows the huge potential for dogs to help in the fight against COVID-19", she was quoted as saying in the news release of London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

The dogs were trained by the team at Medical Detection Dogs to identify COVID-19 using body odour samples which were sent to the research team by members of the public and NHS staff. It consisted of masks, socks and t-shirts of infected people. Six dogs were tested using 200 positive samples and 200 negative samples. The highest performing dogs in the trial detected the odour of the virus in the samples with up to 94.3 per cent sensitivity and up to 92 per cent specificity. The researchers emphasise the dogs have the advantage of being incredibly rapid and have the potential to quickly examine individuals in public places without any inconvenience. Professor James Logan, Head of the Department of Disease Control at LSHTM, who led the project, said that the results of the study have exceeded his expectations.

"The results of this study far exceeded my expectations. While the mass rollout of vaccines in the UK is a great success, it will take time to achieve the coverage levels needed for our lives to return to near normal. With the threat of new variants entering the country, the need for testing means we face potential continued disruption for some time to come."

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