{"id":257325,"date":"2021-05-24T10:21:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T07:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/study-shows-dogs-can-detect-covid-positive-arrivals\/"},"modified":"2021-05-24T10:21:00","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T07:21:00","slug":"study-shows-dogs-can-detect-covid-positive-arrivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/study-shows-dogs-can-detect-covid-positive-arrivals\/","title":{"rendered":"#Study shows dogs can detect COVID-positive arrivals"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Study shows dogs can detect COVID-positive arrivals<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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\"SARS-COV-2
\n Colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (green) heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (yellow), isolated from a patient sample. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Credit: NIH\/NIAID
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Dogs can be trained to detect more than 90 percent of COVID-19 infections even when patients are asymptomatic, according to research published Monday, which authors hope could help replace the need to quarantine new arrivals.<\/p>\n


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Using their remarkable sense of smell\u2014which can pick up the equivalent of half a teaspoon of sugar in an olympic-sized swimming pool\u2014dogs have already shown that they can sniff out maladies such as cancer, malaria and epilepsy. <\/p>\n

Several previous studies have shown proof-of-concept that dogs can detect SARS-CoV-2.<\/p>\n

Researchers from the London School of Tropical Medicine wanted to see if dogs could detect a distinctive odour given off from chemical compounds associated with someone who is COVID positive but doesn’t show symptoms.<\/p>\n

They gathered samples of clothing and face masks from people who had tested positive for mild or symptomatic SARS-CoV-2.<\/p>\n

Samples of the socks of 200 COVID-19 cases were collected and arranged in lab tests for six dogs that had been trained to indicate either a presence or absence of the chemical compound. <\/p>\n

The dogs needed to be trained not to identify “false positives” in a bid to hack their reward system and obtain treats even if there were no COVID-19 samples in a given test.<\/p>\n

“This means that the dog fully understands and gets a reward for a correct negative as well as a correct positive,” said Claire Guest, from the school’s Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases.<\/p>\n

Overall, the dogs were successfully able to identify between 94 and 82 percent of SARS-CoV-2 samples. <\/p>\n

The researchers then modelled how effectively these success rates, combined with traditional PCR tests, could help detect mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 cases.<\/p>\n

They found that using dogs to screen arrivals at terminuses such as airports could detect 91 percent of cases, resulting in a 2.24 times lower rate of transmission than with PCR tests alone. <\/p>\n

‘Important start’<\/b><\/p>\n

Authors of the research, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, said they hoped it could eventually replace the need for travel<\/a>lers to quarantine\u2014which necessarily disrupts every arrival even though the vast majority are not COVID positive.<\/p>\n

“The key thing is that dogs are significantly quicker than other tests,” said co-author James Logan. <\/p>\n

“What we’re suggesting is that dogs would give the first initial screening, and then those (arrivals) that were indicated as positive would then receive a complimentary PCR test.”<\/p>\n

The team said that out of a plane full of arrivals\u2014around 300 people\u2014less than one percent were statistically likely to be carrying SARS-CoV-2. <\/p>\n

Under current quarantine regulations employed by some countries, all 300 would need to isolate, causing significant inconvenience. <\/p>\n

But given the sensitivity of trained dogs, a maximum of 35 people on board would be indicated as positive, the paper said. <\/p>\n

Of these, only around 3 would be expected to return a positive PCR test.<\/p>\n

“This is a really important start and could lead to a useful, usable system,” said Mick Bailey, professor of Comparative Immunology at the University of Bristol, who was not involved in the research.<\/p>\n

“But there’s a lot more validation needs to be done before we could be confident that the dogs can reliably and specifically detect asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in people in airports and train stations.”<\/p>\n\n

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COVID-19 dogs could be sniffing out cases in months<\/a>\n <\/div>\n

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\n \u00a9 2021 AFP<\/p>\n

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Citation<\/strong>:
\n Study shows dogs can detect COVID-positive arrivals (2021, May 24)
\n retrieved 24 May 2021
\n from https:\/\/phys.org\/news<\/a>\/2021-05-dogs-covid-positive.html<\/p>\n

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\n part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n