Dogs are trained to find corpses and drugs, but can they also be used to detect coronavirus?
It is researchers in several countries around the world are investigating.
Among other places in Germany where the University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover and the German military are training the ability of various dog breeds to detect the virus that has spread from China to the rest of the world.
The motivation for the research is the dogs’ molecular composition, which not only makes it possible to detect things like corpses and explosives, but also smells different cancers, malaria and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar ed.) In diabetics.
This ability can possibly also be used to detect coronavirus, and so far the research is well under way, the German university states in a press release.
Positive results
Preliminary results show that dogs that are, among other things, of the breed Labrador, can distinguish between samples from coronavirus-infected people and healthy patients. The researchers believe that the method could be used in public places such as airports, borders or major events in addition to laboratory tests in the work of preventing the virus from spreading.
– The results of the study are incredibly exciting. We have laid a solid foundation for future studies to investigate what the dogs can smell, says Professor Holger Volk, director of the university’s department for smaller animals.
France, the United States, the United Kingdom and Chile are also conducting similar investigations.
Among other things, the British government has donated £ 500,000 to research carried out in a collaboration between the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Durham University, and a voluntary organization, Medical Detection Dogs.
Source: dr.dk
