Dr. Dogs: Can Our Fluffy Friends Sniff Out Diseases?
Dogs can even determine how people are feeling by sniffing. For example, they can detect fear by sniffing human scent. Therefore, it is not surprising that dogs’ smelling abilities can help us detect a number of diseases, including the highly infectious Covid 19.
Reports suggest that dogs’ smelling abilities might be 10,000 times better than humans because of the 100 million scent receptor that they have in their noses compared to only 6 million in human beings. The animals are also able to sniff a wide range of smells at much lower concentrations when compared to humans and high-tech laboratory instruments. They sometimes detect smells as low as one part per trillion.
It has also been found that dogs first sniff with their right nostril and once they find the smell to be familiar and safe, they smell from their left nostril. Studies have concluded that letting dogs sniff can improve their welfare and make them more optimistic.
Dr. Dog
During the Covid pandemic, there was a need for real-time detection of infection. It was noted that dogs were able to smell a range of substances that were released because of respiratory infections and had their own distinct smell. Therefore, dogs became our ‘lab partners’ during the pandemic.
It was found out that after one week of dogs’ training on Covid-odor, dogs could identify infections in bodily fluids from the respiratory system, thus identifying positive cases the majority of the time. After dogs’ training on respiratory samples, they could also generalize their Covid detection skills to other bodily fluids like sweat and urine.
Real-time screening with the help of dogs also turned out to be way more cost-efficient when compared to traditional methods such as lateral flow and PCR testing.
Besides, Covid, there are other infectious diseases that can be detected by dog sniffing. There were instances when children infected with malaria parasites were successfully identified by dogs sniffing their foot odor. Dogs are also able to detect urinary tract and gastrointestinal infections caused by the bacteria Clostridium difficle which can be life-threatening for sensitive patients.
Screening by dog’s sniffing
According to a study, two dogs that were trained to detect Covid by sniffing in the lab were taken into some California schools. They completed screenings among students by sniffing their ankles and feet. In order to determine the accuracy of the detection, the children also undertook lateral flow tests. It was found that the dogs detected correctly the majority of the time.
Even though there were a few instances when dogs made errors, the fact that the screenings could be conducted within seconds makes them highly efficient.
Similar to how dogs are used to screen people for substances like drugs and explosives as part of security measures, they are well capable of offering medical screening services we well.
However, when it comes to medical and health sectors, all the processes need to be thoroughly evaluated for safety, cost-effectiveness along with legal and ethical implications.
Also, conducting health screening using dogs calls for review and careful supervision, while ensuring the welfare of the dogs.
Conclusion
Covid is one of the many medical conditions that our furry friends could potentially help us detect.
Besides infectious diseases, dogs have been able to successfully detect certain forms of cancer in biological samples, hypoglycemia in diabetes patients, and the onset of epileptic seizures.
Dogs and humans have cohabited for thousands of years and they have become each other’s constant companions in many parts of the world.
Dogs have also become human’s important working partners in a wide range of roles, thanks to their excellent sniffing capabilities. Using their natural ability to detect medical conditions can be another way by which the relationship between human beings and dogs will deepen.
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