Trained sniffer dogs to detect asymptomatic COVID-19 cases - Thai PBS World Tonight [16th March 2021]

Sniffer dogs, specially trained to detect people infected with COVID-19 who do not exhibit symptoms, will soon be sent to international airports and seaports to help identify asymptomatic cases among arrivals from abroad.

According to the Chula Journal website, the six Labrador retriever dogs, trained by a research team at the Veterinary Faculty of Chulalongkorn University, have a 94.8% accuracy in detection.

Professor Dr. Kaywalee Chatdarong, vice dean of the research and innovations section of the Veterinary Faculty and chief of the project, explained that all the thermal scanners or imaging systems installed at ports of entry or at public venues only detect higher body temperatures and no other symptoms and, therefore, are not effective in detecting asymptomatic cases.

However, dogs’ noses are 50 times more sensitive than humans and can detect asymptomatic cases through their sweat.