Finland is testing COVID sniffing dogs at Helsinki Airport
According to a release in the Associated Press, The dogs sniff a sweat sample – obtained with a wipe – that passenger has agreed to provide. The the sample is then put in a jar and given to a dog in a different room. The dog can detect COVID within 10 seconds and indicates the test result by scratching its paw, laying down or other trained response.
Passengers who’s samples indicate a positive result are then asked to take a standard polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, coronavirus test – to confirm the dog’s accuracy.
Dogs, in addition to being quick, appear to be very good at sniffing out COVID-19
According to a pilot study reported on BMC Port of Springer Nature, during the presentation of 1012 randomized samples, the test dogs achieved an overall average detection rate of 94% (±3.4%) with 157 correct indications of positive, 792 correct rejections of negative, 33 incorrect indications of negative or incorrect rejections of 30 positive sample presentations (these results were from tests that used saliva or tracheobronchial secretions). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Innovative approaches to detecting COVID may make it easier and more pleasant for us all to remain safe, as we continue to do our best during this difficult time, waiting for an effective vaccine.
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