The specially trained Covid19 dogs could replace temperature and infrared scanners at Covid-19 screening points.
The results of a study found that dogs can be trained to identify the coronavirus even when humans are asymptomatic. The dogs are more than 90% accurate, the study said.
The socks and masks from 200 people who tested positive were collected by researchers at the London School of Tropical Medicine and used to train 6 dogs to identify the smell of the chemical compounds of a Covid-19 patient. Using the dogs in addition to PCR testing at checkpoints, such as airports, could lead to a 2.24% slower transmission speed, according to the study.
In Bangkok, a similar study was conducted at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, where 6 Labrador retrievers were trained to detect the virus in human sweat.
Tests show that the dogs had a 95% accuracy rate in detecting Covid-19 in asymptomatic patient samples. Those dogs are now being deployed as additional screening in high-risk areas in Bangkok.
An author of the London School study says the dogs can quickly identify a person infected with Covid-19 and potentially be used as a screening tool to replace the need for quarantine on arrival.
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