UK Doctors Testing to See if Dogs Can Sniff Out COVID-19

In a bid to ease the process of detecting and diagnosing people infected with the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, some British doctors are testing to see if dogs are capable of detecting the illness.

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic is unlike anything we have experienced in modern history. So on whom may we count in helping us further detect this disease within our communities? Our animal best friends, of course. 

In the past, dogs have been able to detect the scents of diseases such as malaria, which researchers suggest has a distinct odor, as do other illnesses. This means that in principle, dogs would also be able to detect the COVID-19 coronavirus. According to the BBC, medical detection dogs could also potentially be trained to tell if someone had a fever.

In an interview with the outlet, Claire Guest, founder and chief executive of Medical Detection Dogs, said that they are “now looking into how we can safely catch the odor of the virus from patients and present it to the dogs.” She went on to say that “the aim is that dogs will be able to screen anyone, including those who are asymptomatic, and tell us whether they need to be tested.”

Sourse: sputniknews.com