Four Covid-19 sniffer dogs have begun work at Helsinki airport in a state-funded pilot scheme that Finnish researchers hope will provide a cheap, fast and effective alternative method of testing people for the virus.
A dog is capable of detecting the presence of the coronavirus within 10 seconds and the entire process takes less than a minute to complete, according to Anna Hielm-Björkman of the University of Helsinki, who is overseeing the trial.
“It’s very promising,” said Hielm-Björkman. “If it works, it could prove a good screening method in other places” such as hospitals, care homes and at sporting and cultural events.
After collecting their luggage, arriving international passengers are asked to dab their skin with a wipe. In a separate booth, the beaker containing the wipe is then placed next to others containing different control scents – and the dog starts sniffing.
If it indicates it has detected the virus – usually by yelping, pawing or lying down – the passenger is advised to take a free standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, using a nasal swab, to verify the dog’s verdict.
In the university’s preliminary tests, dogs – which have been successfully used to detect diseases such as cancer and diabetes – were able to identify the virus with nearly 100% accuracy, even days before before a patient developed symptoms.
Scientists are not yet sure what exactly it is that the dogs sniff when they detect the virus. A French study published in June concluded that there was “very high evidence” that the sweat odour of Covid-positive people was different to that of those who did not have the virus, and that dogs could detect that difference.
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FROM THE NUMBERS LATER IN THE ARTICLE 4 DOGS $400,000.00
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MY KINGDOM FOR A BEAGLE????? WELL MAYBE NOT A BEAGLE.. THEY ONLY SPEAK RABBIT......
THE PROBLEM IS GETTING THE DOG TO BE BI LINGUAL... THE WHOLE CONCEPT IS FASCINATING...
HOW TO DESCRIBE TO THE DOG WHICH SCENT YOU WANT.. COVID, MARAJUANA, OR DIRTY SOCKS.
I KEEP TELLING PEOPLE, WE NEED TO SPEND MORE TIME/ MONEY/ENERGY ON BEING ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH DOGS... FOR OPENERS.... THEIR NOSES ARE FAR SUPERIOR TO MASSIVE COMPUTERS.. --
I SAID TRACKING A PERSON OVER A LAKE AND UP A STREAM WAS NONSENSE... UNTIL THE MYTHBUSTERS DID JUST THAT.. WITH A BLOODHOUND...IN GREAT MYTHBUSTER STYLE... THEY SPREAD EVERY RUMORED SCENT THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO DEFLECT THE DOGS... COFFE GRINDS, GARLIC. FEMALE DOGGIE SMELL, AND BBQ CHICKEN...
BEFORE I GOT INTO DANES FOR BALANCE, I CONSIDERED TRAINING BOMB SNIFFING-- BECAUSE I FOUND AN OUTFIT WITH A N EXCESS OF HOUNDS.. LUCKILY SOMEONE GAVE ME A DANE AND THE REST IS HISTORY.
