We have drug-sniffing dogs, bomb-sniffing dogs, and even cash-sniffing dogs. But we could soon have dogs to detect the novel coronavirus.
Researchers across the pond are currently teaching canines how to screen (sniff) for COVID-19. If successful, the dogs would be able to non-invasively check up to 250 people per hour!
"Our previous work demonstrated that dogs can detect odors from humans with a malaria infection with extremely high accuracy — above the World Health Organization standards for a diagnostic," James Logan, Professor and Head of the Department of Disease Control at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said in a press release.
Dr. Claire Guest is the CEO and co-founder of Medical Detection Dogs, a charity based in the U.K. that works specifically with dogs to help detect diseases and life-threatening conditions in humans. She says that the end goal is for the dogs to be able to detect the disease in those who may even be asymptomatic.
"In principle, we're sure that dogs could detect COVID-19," Guest said. "We are now looking into how we can safely catch the odor of the virus from patients and present it to the dogs."
Training is now underway and scientists say that the dogs could be ready in about six weeks if all goes well.
Check out more details on CBS News.