Testing underway in U.K.
While vast efforts are being made around the world for technology to quickly test fof the SARS CoV-2 virus, there may be a faster and less expensive way for early detection.
It is well-known that dogs have an extremely good sense of smell, which is why they’ve long been used to detect drugs and bombs at points of entry into countries, and many other situations.
For some time also dogs have been trained to detect the extremely minute and individually unique odours of cancers, diabetes. malaria, and Parkinson’s diseases.
The thought has occurred that indviduals with COVID-19 might also give off, minute odours caused by changes in the body from the virus and the hope is that dogs could also be trained to detect cases of COVID-19. They can also detect the subtle changes in skin temperature to indicate whether a person has a fever.
A British medical charity, Medical Detection Dogs, is collaborating with Durham University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) on the concept. The project was announced in an LSHTM press statement on March 27.
James Logan is head of LSHTM’s Department of Disease Control. Quoted in an article by CityLab he says. “We know diseases have odors — including respiratory diseases such as influenza — and that those odors are in fact quite distinct. There is a very, very good chance that Covid-19 has a specific odor, and if it does I am really confident that the dogs would be able to learn that smell and detect it”. Logan goes on to explain how the distinct odours are created..
“Oxidative stress can release compounds into the blood, which can be released through your breath and skin. We think it may be something to do with the stress response to an infection that causes these different volatile chemicals to be produced, which are released into the blood and become detectable by the dog”.
As some dogs may be better than others at detecting the extremely minute odour differences, six dogs of differing breeds will be tested in the experiment, still in its earliest stages ( Matthew Childs- Reuters)
The researchers first need a way to catch the virus’ odour safely from patients. If that can be done, researchers are confident in the dogs ability to detect the presence of the virus in people. Then it would take about six weeks to train the dogs. Six ‘bio-detection’ dogs are being testing in the COVID-19 detection process.
Claire Guest heads the charity. In the press statement she said, “The aim, is that dogs will be able to screen anyone, including those who are asymptomatic, and tell us whether they need to be tested.” Quotee by the BBC she adds, “When resources and testing kits are low, hundreds of people can’t be tested in one go. But the dogs can screen up to 750 people really quickly. By identifying those who need to be tested and self-isolate, they can stop the spread.”
It is too early to tell if the experiment with COVID-19 detecting dogs is working. There also is no word if anyone in Canada is doing similar research. The Middle East Monitor reports that an Iranian news source says that Iran has also begun a similar programme.
additional information – sources
- BBC: Apr.22/20: Coronavirus: Could sniffer dogs soon be used to test people?
- BBC: Mar.27/20: Coronavirus- Dogs to be trained to detect virus
- Business Insider: J.Pasley: Apr 1/20: Sniffer dogs are being trained to recognize the coronavirus in the U.K.
- CTV: M. Lopez-Martinez: Apr.12/20: Dogs join fight against COVID-19 by learning how to detect the virus
- CityLab: F. O’Sullivan: Apr 6/20: Can dogs smell COVID-19?
- Express: S..Murrer: Mar.28/20: Hero dogs in training to sniff out coronavirus even in those showing no symptoms.
Note: Although Claire Guest has an Msc and several awards recognising her work, the title “Dr” has been removed as it an honourary title and not bestowed through doctoral or medical certificate
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