Dogs trained to sniff out COVID-19 score near perfect detections

[Platapus]

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/dogs...n-human-sweat/


Dogs Trained to Sniff Out COVID-19 Score Near-Perfect in Diagnosis of Human Sweat Samples

Does sweat from someone infected with COVID-19 have a unique scent? Researchers in Paris, and elsewhere, believe it does—and we now know dogs can sniff it out.
A new study from researchers at the national veterinary school in Alfort, outside Paris trained 8 Belgian Malinois shepherds to identify the smell of COVID-19 in the sweat of infected individuals.
The dogs’ overall success rate was near-perfect, correctly guessing an average of 95% of samples. Four dogs successfully identified a positive COVID sweat sample 100% of the time.


Many of the countries which have had the greatest success maintaining low numbers of Covid case numbers have done so with widespread use of testing. Using dogs, according to the scientists, would greatly increase the speed at which people could be tested, and they resolved to move forward with subsequent studies in case of resurgent numbers as lockdowns throughout the Northern Hemisphere end.


For centuries, the authors note, humans have used their sense of smell as a tool for medical diagnoses, and dogs have been detecting cancer in over 2,000 modern scientific studies.
Since the animal’s highly-developed sense of smell was first used to detect malignant tumors for bladder, colorectal, and other cancers in the 1980s, the idea for disease-detecting canines moved outside the field of oncology into research studies for epilepsy, diabetes, and even Parkinson’s.
For the Coronavirus study the authors collected 168 samples of armpit-perspiration from Covid-positive individuals who were not in need of significant medical supervision. They used 18 dogs that had been trained to detect explosives, colorectal cancer, and survivors during search and rescue missions.

Jars containing samples of Covid-positive perspiration were placed in a line. Funnels were inserted into the jars allowing the canines to put their noses close to the sample. Trials were done with 3, 4, 6, and 7 jars, with only one containing a positive sample.
“The results of this first proof of concept study demonstrate that COVID-19 positive people produce an axillary sweat that has a different odor, for the detection dog, than COVID-19 negative persons,” write the authors of the study.


“In a context where, in many countries worldwide, diagnostic tests are lacking in order to set up a mass detection of COVID-19 contaminant people, we think it is important to explore the possibility of introducing dog olfactive detection as a rapid, reliable and cheap “tool” to either pre-test willing people or be a fast checking option in certain circumstances.”

Never underestimate what a dog's snifferlator can do.

[Eichhörnchen]

I'll buy that and the sooner this form of detection becomes common practice the better

[Jimbuna]

Well, it's already been proven with the likes of drugs and explosives so why not diseases.

[mapuc]

They have also trained dog to sniff out Cancer.
Don't know if it's all type of cancer

Markus

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by mapuc

They have also trained dog to sniff out Cancer.
Don't know if it's all type of cancer

Markus

You could add Parkinsons and the early onset of dementia but as I said earlier Markus 'diseases.

[August]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

Well, it's already been proven with the likes of drugs and explosives so why not diseases.

I read somewhere that a dogs sense of smell is 20,000 times more powerful than ours. Amazing.

[Cybermat47]

Originally Posted by August

I read somewhere that a dogs sense of smell is 20,000 times more powerful than ours. Amazing.

That’s why they sniff other dogs’ butts. They can actually tell a lot about the other dog just from that.

[Platapus]

It is hard to measure how much better a dog's sense of smell than a human's. But what we do know is that dogs can possess 300,000,000 olfactory receptors while humans have about 6,000,000


The part of a dog's brain that process olfactory data is about 40 times (proportional) larger than the part of our brain that processes olfactory data.



And if that ain't enough. Dogs posses an organ that is absent in humans. It is called the Vomeronasal Organ or sometimes the Jacobson's organ. This organ is specialized to focus on pheromones. The Jacobson's organ communicates with a separate part of the dog's brain than other olfactory data.


Dogs are just walking and pooping noses... with a slobbery tongue

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by August

I read somewhere that a dogs sense of smell is 20,000 times more powerful than ours. Amazing.

A dog’s sense of smell is way stronger than ours.

Numbers abound about how much better a dog’s sense of smell is than ours. There are so many variables that it’s almost impossible to quantify. I’ve seen figures indicating that a dog’s sense of smell is from 10 to 100 to 1,000 to 1,000,000 times better. Scientists I’ve spoken with say that dogs can detect some, if not most, odors at concentrations of parts per trillion.

https://www.dogster.com/lifestyle/do...of-smell-facts

[u crank]

Yes it is remarkable. My daughter's partner is a RCMP K-9 officer. His stories and explanations about how his dog tracks people is amazing.

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by August

I read somewhere that a dogs sense of smell is 20,000 times more powerful than ours. Amazing.

Myth confirmed.



BTW, Jim had a pint and a curry last night. Just sayin.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

Myth confirmed.



BTW, Jim had a pint and a curry last night. Just sayin.

Funny you say that because that is exactly what I had and my dog trusts me enough to be lying under my computer chair in the man cave as I type this