Status: 11/16/2022 11:26 am
A German Shepherd’s nose has around 220 million olfactory cells. A study now shows that if the animals are trained in a targeted manner, they can sniff out a corona infection with astonishing accuracy – even before a PCR test takes effect.
Specially trained sniffer dogs can also reliably sniff out corona infections in everyday situations and are suitable for use at major events. This is the result of a study conducted by the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hanover (TiHo). in the journal “BMJ Global Health”.. The dogs are even able to identify infections before the PCR test is positive, said study leader Holger Volk, head of the small animal clinic at the TiHo. “In this case, the dog is an early warning system.”
Although most government corona restrictions have now been lifted, the corona detection dogs could still be useful, the veterinary medicine professor believes. “Big companies like Continental or Volkswagen would have a relatively inexpensive screening tool with them to increase the safety of their employees.”
82 percent of positive samples detected
For the Lower Saxony study “Back to Culture”, sweat samples were taken at four concerts in September and October 2021 in Hanover. On the day of the concert, the visitors had also submitted swabs for an antigen rapid test and a PCR test. For a total of 2802 participants, sweat samples, test results and information on, among other things, the vaccination status and chronic diseases were available.
As the TiHo reports, the eight specially trained dogs recognized 99.9 percent of the Sars-CoV-2-negative samples and 81.6 percent of the Sars-CoV-2-positive samples. The study shows that dogs can reliably distinguish between samples not only under laboratory conditions, but also in everyday life, Volk emphasized. Experts from the Hannover Medical School and the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin were also involved in the research.
Corona detection dogs in retirement homes
The TiHo wants to continue researching with corona sniffer dogs. In a project of the University Medical Center Mainz, the use of corona detection dogs in nursing homes is currently being tested.
According to the scientists, dogs are increasingly being used to detect smells in medicine. For example, they are able to detect various types of cancer, malaria and some bacterial and viral infections.