Researchers are trying to determine if dogs could be used in airports, workplaces and nursing homes to detect COVID-19. Learn more here:
And while taking people’s temperatures can be helpful in those settings, there can be limitations in the accuracy, as COVID-19 is not the only reason why people could have a higher internal temperature. The training could even theoretically be applied to screen environments, according to Otto. “Say we had a nursing home that had COVID-19.
The training process is conducted using a contraption called a “scent wheel,” in which samples are placed at the end of the arms of a stainless-steel carousel, and the dogs mark which sample is positive for COVID-19. If that stage is successful, which should be completed within a month, a longer process will be conducted from there, which will take months outside of a laboratory setting, training the dogs to find the odor on a person in a crowd.
The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, located in Philadelphia, is temporarily closed due to the current health crisis, so the testing will be completed at a different, more contained facility in Maryland called Tactical Directional Canine Systems. Eight Labrador retrievers — of the golden, black, and chocolate variety — will participate in the study. Pat Nolan, who heads that facility, says the dogs are getting ready.
“They’ve shown to me an interest in the work, and they’re working hard at the project,” says Nolan, who is often training dogs in explosive detection. Labradors are hunting dogs, so they have a long history of using their smell to help humans. Otto explains that they are a bit calmer and less intimidating than other dogs, like a German shepherd. And dogs in general are a bit more practical to partner with than other animals with great senses of smell.
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