The Nose Knows

There might be a new way of sniffing out cases of COVID-19. Dogs can smell the disease in a person’s sweat. That is what a new study found.

Dogs have a strong sense of smell. They can smell the chemicals a person’s body creates during an illness. This could make them powerful partners in finding COVID-19.

Training and Testing

This dog is being trained to smell COVID-19. It sniffs positive, negative, and fake samples.

The new study was done in France. Sweat was collected from about 350 people. Some of them had COVID-19. Many of the dogs were chosen from fire departments. Scientists trained them. They taught the dogs to recognize the chemicals that COVID-19 produces in the body.

The dogs did well. They were right about nearly all of the positive samples. Those were from people who had the disease. The dogs also identified most of the negative cases. They were as accurate × accurate BRANISLAV NOVAK—EYEEM/GETTY IMAGES correct; precise (adjective) It is accurate to say that two plus two is four. as the best COVID-19 tests.

Betta, a Dutch shepherd, is on the job at Miami International Airport.

Betta sniffs masks for COVID-19. Dogs will be used for screening at the airport’s employee entrance.

Good Dogs

There are many benefits to using dogs to test for COVID-19. They can search for sick people in crowded areas. They can also be an alternative to other kinds of tests.

And dogs can be trained in only a few weeks. The scientists make sure the animals do not get too tired. “The welfare × welfare DANN TARDIF—LWA/GETTY IMAGES health and well-being (noun) The doctor is concerned with the welfare of her patients. of the dogs was fully respected,” the scientists wrote. They were even rewarded with toys for their good work.

This dog is sniffing for evidence of COVID-19 at LeRoy L. Wood Elementary School, in Fairhaven, Massachusetts.

Did You Know?

A dog can smell separately with each nostril. It uses its nose in much the same way that we use our eyes. This allows it to sniff things out quickly. A dog can follow the trail of a person or another animal. Dogs gained this super sense long ago. It was important for their survival in the wild.