FROM SNIFFER DOGS TO SEWAGE TESTING, SCIENTISTS ARE FINDING NEW WAYS TO DETECT COVID-19

With the World Health Organisation warning there may never be a “silver bullet” for COVID-19, scientists are investigating more creative tactics to keep tabs on the virus.

Enter dogs, drones and sewage testing.

Let’s take a look at how Australian researchers are exploring these less traditional tracing systems and how close we are to implementing them.

Canine disease detectives

In just a couple of months, the first Australian detection dogs will be fully trained in how to detect the odour of COVID-19.

Dogs’ powerful sense of smell has already been used to sniff out cancer and Parkinson’s disease. Initial research conducted in France shows they can also reliably recognise someone with COVID-19.

They do this by smelling what’s known as COVID-19 Volatile Olfactory Compounds (VOCs), emitted through human sweat. VOCs are produced by your body all the time but their smell changes ever so slightly if you are positive for COVID-19.

And don’t worry, you don’t have to be sweaty, or even that close, for the dogs to pick up on it.

Anne-Lise Chaber, a veterinarian and expert in disease detection at the University of Adelaide, said some dogs have shown 100 per cent accuracy.

“Say someone is sitting and the dog is put next to them, the dog will sit if they are positive,” she said.

“Importantly, you don’t even need to have any symptoms for them to smell you and this is critical as we know many people with COVID-19 have no symptoms.”

The study from the National Veterinary School in Alfort, France suggested sniffer dogs could be an excellent tool for this virus because they rarely miss positive cases and return a low rate of false positives.

So far, breeds like German shepherds and labradors have shown the most success but research is ongoing about which breeds are better than others.

Dr Chaber says her team is waiting on sweat samples from positive patients in Australian hospitals before they start training with dogs in Victoria, SA and NSW.

“We are preparing everything and will start very, very soon.”

Dogs who have already been trained in smell detection, like firearm dogs, take about six to eight weeks to train for COVID-19 detection while “green” dogs with no prior experience take a few months.

Dr Chaber envisions sniffer dogs being used in airports and aged care homes across Australia. She says they would be a great option to screen health care workers on a daily basis.

In the United Arab Emirates, COVID-19 detection dogs have already been deployed in airports and hospitals.