For a group of Finnish medical scent detection dogs, the nose knows. While originally trained in identifying cancer, researchers have now confirmed that these dogs can smell COVID-19. The findings could prove extremely beneficial in fighting coronavirus outbreaks and keeping humans safe.
At the University of Helsinki, researchers joined forces with resident medical and veterinary practitioners to explore the dogs’ detection abilities. Since it has already been established that dogs can smell disease, researchers hoped sniffing out COVID-19 would be no different. Their assumptions were correct: the dogs successfully detected the virus in urine samples among those from healthy individuals. Additionally, the speed at which they learn and work appears to outrun current coronavirus tests currently available. According to researcher Anna Hielm-Björkman, “it was fantastic to see how fast the dogs took to the new smell.” (1)
How Dogs Can Smell COVID-19
To understand how dogs can smell COVID-19 is simple: they have 50x more smell receptors than humans do. A dog’s 300 million scent detectors far surpass that of a human’s 6 million, allowing them to understand a wide range of smells. This nose for detection, combined with their unique aptitude for working with their two-legged partners, creates a powerful partnership in identifying a wide range of scents.
Most have seen bomb- or drug-sniffing dogs in action, perhaps at an airport or border checkpoint. Medical scent detection, however, is a relatively new use of a canine’s powerful nose. Despite only a decade or two of research, these super sniffers are quickly learning to detect more and more diseases. In addition to successes in Helsinki, other COVID-19 dog detection programs are proving equally promising.
Cynthia Otto, DVM, Ph.D., is the professor of Working Dog Sciences and Sports Medicine and director of Penn Vet’s Working Dog Center. Her current research also aims to test how well dogs can smell COVID-19. The study involves a team of eight dogs that will go through a process called odor imprinting. Although this requires exposure to coronavirus, the dogs learn the smell from saliva and urine samples. They then will learn to differentiate between COVID-19 positive and negative samples, all in a lab setting. “Scent detection dogs can accurately detect low concentrations of volatile organic compounds, otherwise known as VOCs, associated with various diseases such as ovarian cancer, bacterial infections, and nasal tumors,” Dr. Otto explains. “These VOCs are present in human blood, saliva, urine, or breath.” Because the dogs learn fast, preliminary COVID-19 detection screenings of humans could start as early as July of 2020. (2)
Helping To Fight A Pandemic
Future applications of this current research could be widespread and plentiful. While more studies will need to be done to verify the dogs’ positive detection rates, they could help curb the spread of the virus–especially for future outbreaks. Whether in an airport, nursing home, or hospital, positive detections could save lives as well as precious medical resources.
In this pandemic, no resource should go untapped. Using their powerful noses, man’s best friend is again proving their loyalty to their two-legged counterparts. Working together, the outlook of early detection is promising and could save the lives of many.
