Can dogs detect COVID-19?
Many of you know that dogs have a profound sense of smell. They can sniff out a wide variety of illnesses and researchers are saying that dogs could potentially detect the COVID-19 virus.
During the research, they found, “The dogs may even be able to detect false negative tests. During the testing, two samples collected from individuals who tested negative were repeatedly marked by the dogs. The relevant hospitals were informed, and in subsequent tests these individuals tested positive.
In addition, a surgeon and researcher at Saint Joseph University in Beirut, Riad Sarkis, further tested the best two performers by taking them to a Lebanese airport. The dogs screened 1,680 passengers and found 158 positive SARS-CoV-2 cases that were then confirmed by other viral tests. Amazingly, Sarkis found that his dogs could correctly identified negative results 100% of the time, and correctly detected positive cases 92% of the time, according to unpublished results.
So, what does this mean for us? This could lead to a slow in the spread of COVID-19! It is also cheaper and faster alternative to conventional testing methods.
Who knows, maybe dogs will help us eliminate this virus once and for all.