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Although the virus itself does not smell, the person infected with it does. It turns out that properly trained dogs can recognize this odor that is imperceptible to humans. Recently, musicians of the Metallica band have decided to support pets in this matter. How do dogs detect COVID-19?
- Rapid screening methods are essential to contain a pandemic. Properly trained dogs can detect COVID-19 within seconds
- The canine smell will be especially helpful in asymptomatic cases. The virus itself does not smell, but the person infected with it emits a characteristic odor
- Specially trained dogs search for coronavirus infected people gathered at a Metallica concert
- In the USA, quadrupeds supervised by Bio-Detection K9 will undergo further training to better detect the Omikron variant
- You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page
Quadrupeds on duty
The presence of trained service dogs at airports or border crossing points should not make anyone wonder. Thanks to their olfactory skills, dogs detect dangerous substances or drugs. Dogs, considered man’s best friends, can also detect conditions such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease and the impending epilepsy.
Scientists therefore set out to prepare dogs for the rapid detection of COVID-19. Four-legged friends will not replace tests, but their evaluation may be the basis for its performance.
- Also read: Pets also get COVID-19. New research has shown that they can become infected from humans
The rest of the text below the video.
In March last year, research related to the program “COVID-19 detection by dogs” began in Poland., coordinated by scientists from the University of Life Sciences in Wrocław and associating e.g. researchers from the Ministry of Interior and Administration, trainers, instructors and people who design training and monitoring the work of dogs. Research of this type was also carried out in the Czech Republic, France and Finland.
Their goal is to prepare dogs for coronavirus screening in large crowds of people such as shopping malls, airports and stadiums. Rapid screening methods are essential to contain a pandemic, and properly trained dogs can detect COVID-19 within seconds. Such measures would be particularly useful in the case of people who pass the infection asymptomatically. A preliminary assessment of the dog would be a signal to perform the test.
The effectiveness of this method in the studies carried out so far is 85-90%. It is therefore very accurate.
– said in an interview with Gazeta Wrocławska, one of the team members, dr hab. Michał Dzięcioł from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Wrocław.
- See also: Delmikron – the number of infections with the combination of Delta and Omicron is increasing
Training process
Negrita, Sony, Bruce and Hunter are participating in the pilot program. First of all, dogs have to forget about the smells they have learned so far, such as alcohol or drugs.
The virus itself does not smell, but the person infected with it emits a characteristic odor. Therefore in the training process, dogs are given samples taken from both infected and fully healthy people and the so-called blind, that is, empty samples. A dog that recognizes an infected person should stop next to them.
- Also read: How to treat an Omicron infection at home? This cannot be forgotten
Dogs at a Metallica concert
Due to the COVID-2020 epidemic prevailing from 19, many entertainment events, including concert tours, have been canceled. The musicians, however, slowly decide to return to the stage. Concert organizers and the artists themselves pay special attention to ensuring a high level of security for participants. The most common ways to reduce the risk are coronavirus tests or covid passports.
The members of Metallica, however, decided to enlist the help of quadrupeds. During the fall concerts in Fort Lauderdale and Atlanta, as well as their 40th anniversary concert in San Francisco in December 2021, the musicians were accompanied by 12 trained dogs. The task of specially prepared German and Belgian Shepherds and Labradors was to search for infected people among the audience gathered at the concert. coronavirus. It was met with great interest from fans.
People ask: What is this dog doing? It surprises them, they are full of reserves. But if they understand the instincts that guide canine behavior, they understand the point. Dogs sniff each other too. We train them to find something they would be interested in anyway
Jerry Johnson, a former US Department of Defense dog instructor, told Rolling Stone.
The animals are supervised by Bio-Detection K9, chaired by Jerry Johnson. Before starting work, the dogs took part in a six-week training program. During it, they were taught, among others sniffing human feet and hands. Now the quadrupeds are back in training. This time, however, they will learn to smell protective masks. Changing the procedure is to increase the effectiveness of detecting people infected with the new variant of the coronavirus – Omikron.
According to Rolling Stone magazine, specially trained dogs also took part in Eric Church’s fall tour and will go again with him on the «Gather Again Tour». Bands such as «Tool», «Ashley McBryde» and «Brothers Osborne» also plan to hire dogs for their upcoming tours.
- Also read: New research: Omikron up 105 percent. more contagious than Delta
Do you want to test your COVID-19 immunity after vaccination? Have you been infected and want to check your antibody levels? See the COVID-19 immunity test package, which you will perform at Diagnostics network points.
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