There Is A New Project To Have Medical Detection Dogs Assist In The Shortage Of Coronavirus Testing

Interesting Engineering

Authorities suspect the number of cases of Coronavirus globally is not the actual scenario due to the shortage of testing kits. Experts all over the world are trying to produce more testing kits so that there will be enough for all those infected by the pandemic. But a new project is proposed which hopes that medical detection dogs will be able to sniff out the virus, and assist in helping control its spread. If successful, the dogs could smell out around 750 people an hour, bringing a huge relief to testing efforts.

Medical detection dogs are trained to detect the smell of some diseases in humans, particularly cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Covid-19 is the current life-threatening virus that has gripped the world in its suffocating clutches. This project is a collaboration between the Medical Detection Dogs charity, Durham University, and The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Experts are hoping to train the dogs to be able to sniff out Coronavirus just like cancer, malaria, and Parkinson’s disease. Six dogs are ready to be trained in London.


MSN

Professor James Logan, Head of the Department of Disease Control at the LSHTM said, “It’s exciting because the project could move at speed as there are six dogs ready to be trained.”

The dogs will focus on smelling fabrics worn by coronavirus patients, such as face masks, to find out if COVID-19 has a unique odor that the dogs’ enhanced sense of smell can detect. If all is successful, the dog will be able to detect if a person has contracted the virus in about half a second.

“There have already been so many fantastic achievements in the dogs’ work to detect human disease, and I believe they can be trained to sniff out COVID-19,” said Dr. Claire Guest, CEO and founder of the Medical Detection Dogs charity.

It may take several weeks of experimentation to determine if the dogs are able to identify the coronavirus. Professor Logan explained, “The first thing we need to do is to establish whether there is a distinct odor from COVID-19 and if dogs can detect it. We need samples to do that.” He cautions, “ We have to follow protocols with the samples, as they are highly infectious and we need to ensure they’re safe. We know that other respiratory diseases change our body odor, and if there is a distinct odor, we are confident the dogs will detect it.” This new diagnostic tool will revolutionize the response to COVID-19.


Medical Detection Dogs UK

Claire Guest continues to say, “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.” Professor Logan agrees that probably within 8 weeks, this dog-friendly method may eventually replace current COVID-19 tests. He explained the similarity of drug detection dogs walking up and down a line of people to the medical detection dog’s duty. This would be helpful in places with a large number of workers and students.

For many years, dogs have been helping keep us humans safe. You have dogs that sniff out explosive devices, narcotics, natural disasters, cancer, and hopefully they can help us with the coronavirus. Once again our furry companions come to our rescue, hopefully they will be able to sniff out the virus, and help snuff it out once and for all.

 

 

What are your thoughts? Please comment below and share this news!

True Activist / Report a typo

Popular on True Activist