Thai sniffer dogs can detect Covid-19 in sweat with 95% accuracy

Sniffer dogs trained in Thailand may be able to detect Covid-19 in human sweat with a 95% accuracy - allowing for quick identification of infections in busy areas such as transport hubs - according to the trials of a new pilot project.

The six-month project was conducted using six Labradors, which included tasks such as testing an infected patient's sweat on a spinning wheel of six canned vessels.

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The dogs are able to detect a volatile organic compound present in the sweat, even if the carrier is asymptomatic, the project's head said.

Professor Kaywalee Chatdarong, who leads the project from the veterinary faculty at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University, told Reuters: “The dogs take only one to two seconds to detect the virus. Within a minute, they will manage to go through 60 samples.”

Direct access to the people infection is not necessary and was not conducted for this test.

All that is required for detection is a sweat sample, which Chatdarong assures would not be difficult in a country such as Thailand, which has a humid climate year-round.

The idea that sniffer dogs may be able to trace Covid-19 is something that has seen research across the globe.

Chile, Finland and India are also running their own tests on the subject.

Similarly, a German veterinary team claims its sniffer dogs have managed to detect Covid-19 in human saliva, with as 94% efficacy rate.

In the same interview, Kaywalee said: “The next step is we will put them out in the field,” likely referring to particularly high-density areas.

“In the future, when we send them to airports or ports, where there is an influx of commuters, they will be much faster and more precise in detecting the virus than temperature checks.”

Coronavirus cases in Thailand have plateaued as the country has been successful in containing the virus.

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A new wave of infections that hit the nation earlier in the year has begun to fade and only resulted in 88 deaths.

Front-line workers have also gained priority for vaccinations in the country, which was done to partly allow its economy - which is heavily based on tourism - to get back up-and-running again.

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