Covid-Sniffing Dogs?

FIREPAW,

Will dogs be the ultimate test to determine if humans have contracted the Corona Virus (Covid-19)?  A new trial at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) is trying to determine that right now…

The pilot training program uses scent detection dogs to discriminate between samples from COVID-19 positive and COVID-19 negative patients. This pioneering study sets the stage for dogs to play a critical role in detecting COVID-19, particularly among asymptomatic patients, and in hospital and business environments where testing is most challenging. Preliminary screening of live humans by trained dogs could begin as early as July, 2020.  Read more here.

 

and on the topic of dogs’ ability to smell, here are these new findings…

Dogs can detect traces of gasoline down to one billionth of a teaspoon

Trained dogs can detect fire accelerants such as gasoline in quantities as small as one billionth of a teaspoon, according to new research by chemists. The study provides the lowest estimate of the limit of sensitivity of dogs’ noses and has implications for arson investigations.

Posted by: Ian