A pilot project using sniffer dogs to provide instant and pain-free coronavirus testing at Helsinki
airport has shown promising early results and proven popular with travellers, researchers said
FIVE DAYS EARLIER
Preliminary experiments in the first major wave of infections earlier in the year suggested that the dogs can detect the novel coronavirus with close to 100 per cent accuracy, up to five days earlier than a PCR test
HOW THE TESTS WORK
1. The sniff-test involves wiping a swab onto the skin that is then put in front of the dog, who will quickly pass over a negative sample but will be attracted to a positive one
2. Scientists are not completely sure how the dogs detect the virus, but it is possible that the sweat odour of people with Covid-19 may be markedly different to dog noses
SNIFFER-DOGS NOT USED IN MOST COUNTRIES
Although sniffer dog trials have been undertaken elsewhere, such as in the UAE, France, Ruussia and Chile, use of canine scent-detectors to bolster virus testing has not yet been widely adopted, in part because of a lack of peer-reviewed literature.
DOGS AS ACCURATE AS PCR TESTS?
Helsinki University researchers say the initial findings from dog trials appear broadly in line with
detection rates of the nasal PCR tests also conducted on arriving travellers
10-100 Molecules are what dogs need to detect the presence of the virus in lab samples, Helsinki’s airport said. In contrast, lab equipment needs 18 million
OTHER DISEASES
Dogs have been successfully used to detect cancers, Parkinson’s disease and bacterial infections using
samples taken from humans
We have done 16,000-17,000 PCR tests at the airport and less than one percent are positive. [Compared to the results found by the dogs,] they are about the same, I don’t think there is a statistical difference
Timo Aronkyto, deputy mayor of Vantaa, a city in Finland
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(Inputs from ENS)