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Almost instantaneously, dogs trained to sniff out signs of SARS-CoV-2 infection can indicate positive samples with greater than 90 percent accuracy, according to two preliminary studies published this month. Although such rapid results won’t replace the tried-and-true PCR test to confirm an infection, pups could offer “a suitable method for mass screening,” James Logan, an infectious disease researcher at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine who coauthored one of the studies, tells the BBC.
Logan and his colleagues trained Asher, Kyp, Lexi, Marlow, Millie, and Tala to alert their handlers when they caught the scent of a SARS-CoV-2 infection on clothing that came from an infected person. According to The Guardian, each dog communicates a positive sample differently: Millie sits and whines when she gets a scent, Tala wags his tail, while others stand perfectly still.
In the study, posted as a preprint, their ...
