Trained Dogs Can Detect COVID-19 ‘94% Of The Time,' Research Confirms

According to UK studies, COVID-19 has a unique odor that can be identified by trained dogs with up to 94% accuracy.

In the study, six dogs screened over 3,500 odor specimens provided by the public and the National Health Service. The dogs were able to detect samples from individuals that were diagnosed with the virus but did not have symptoms and those with low bacterial concentrations.

The dogs were also able to distinguish between variations from the coronavirus strain that was prevalent last summer and the Kent variation of the virus that emerged later.

Professor James Logan, the project's leader and director of the department of disease control at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), told the press, “What was great was the dogs that have been trained on the original variant transferred to the new (Kent) variant.”

He added that, without any further instruction, the dogs were able to identify the new variant.

“This gives us real hope and really suggests that dogs are able to detect different variants of COVID,” Logan said.

According to the Irish Examiner, six canines from the Medical Detection Dogs partook in the double-blind trial: Asher, Kyp, Lexie, Marlow, Millie, and Tala. The study team can’t distinguish which scent traces came from Covid-19 and which came from Covid-free samples.

However, the specialist dogs were able to recognize coronavirus-infected contaminants with up to 94.3 percent accuracy and up to 92 recognition rate, according to the study, which was partially funded by the UK Department of Health and Social Care.

The next stage of the research will see how these Fidos detect people with Covid-19 in real-world environments and public spaces.

Professor Steve Lindsay of Durham University's department of biosciences said in a statement, “This is a very exciting result showing that there is a distinct smell associated with Covid-19 and, more importantly, that trained dogs can detect this with a high degree of accuracy.”

Lindsay added that everyone's furry friends may be soon testing a large group of people and keep Covid-19 variants from emerging. “Trained dogs could potentially act as a fast screening tool for travelers, with those identified as infective confirmed with a lab test," she said.