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 necks with a wipe. In
a separate booth, the jar containing the wipe is then placed next to others
containing different 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 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test using a nasal swab
to verify the dog’s verdict.
In the university’s preliminary
tests, dogs – which have previously been 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.
Dogs are also able to identify
Covid-19 from a much smaller molecular sample than PCR tests, Helsinki
airport said, needing only 10-100 molecules to detect the presence of the virus
compared with the 18m needed by laboratory equipment.
Authorities in Vantaa, the city
where Helsinki’s international airport is located, said the pilot programme,
which is due to last four months, was costing €300,000 (£274,000) , which it
said was significantly lower than for laboratory-based testing methods.
Although Covid-19 is known to
infect mink and cats, dogs do not have the receptors necessary for the virus to
readily gain a foothold and do not appear to be easily infected, according
to Hielm-Björkman. There is no evidence that they can transmit the virus to
people or other animals.
A Finnish organisation that
specialises in training animals in scent detection, Wise Nose, is training a
total of 16 dogs for the project, 10 of which are eventually expected to be
able to work at the airport. Working in shifts of two, four of them – ET,
Kossi, Miina and Valo – started on Wednesday.
Researchers in countries including
Australia, France, Germany and Britain are reportedly working on similar
projects but Finland is the first country in Europe to put dogs to
work sniffing out the coronavirus. A similar trial started at Dubai
international airport last month.
Comments
Post a Comment