New research has revealed dogs are more likely to sniff out a positive COVID-19 case than nasal swab tests
The peer reviewed study, conducted in France used a sample of over 300 people.
It found trained dogs were able to detect COVID in 97 per cent of symptomatic cases and nearly 100 per cent of asymptomatic cases.
This proved to be a more effective method for diagnosing positive cases than both RAT and PCR tests, however PCR’s were better at diagnosing negative results.
In two instances dogs misdiagnosed other coronavirus respiratory illness that were not COVID-19.
“The dog doesn’t lie”
Dominique Grandjean, study author
The authors of the study said the test could pave the way for more dogs to be used to test for COVID in mass screening settings such as airports, as global cases surge.
The biggest advantage of using dogs to test for COVID-19 is the short turn around time. PCR results can take days to provide a result, whereas trained dogs are able to complete 20 samples in just 15 seconds.
Several locations around the world are already using dogs to test for COVID. Miami international airport was the first U.S airport to use COVID dogs in September 2021.
Bryan Hoadley contributed to this post.
