| Title: | Detection of SARS-CoV-2 by Canine Olfaction: A Pilot Study |
| Author(s): | Maurer M; Seto T; Guest C; Somal A; Julian C; |
| Address: | "Assistance Dogs of Hawaii, Makawao, Hawaii, USA. The Queen's Medical Center, Academic Affairs and Research, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Medical Detection Dogs UK, Great Horwood, Milton Keynes, UK. Hawaii Film Safety, LLC, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Assistance Dogs of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2328-8957 (Print) 2328-8957 (Electronic) 2328-8957 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "BACKGROUND: As the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases continue to surge worldwide and new variants emerge, additional accurate, rapid, and noninvasive screening methods to detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are needed. The number of COVID-19 cases reported globally is >455 million, and deaths have surpassed 6 million. Current diagnostic methods are expensive, invasive, and produce delayed results. While COVID-19 vaccinations are proven to help slow the spread of infection and prevent serious illness, they are not equitably available worldwide. Almost 40% of the world's population remains unvaccinated. Evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 virus-associated volatile organic compounds found in the breath, urine, and sweat of infected individuals can be detected by canine olfaction. Medical detection dogs may be a feasible, accurate, and affordable SARS-CoV-2 screening method. METHODS: In this double-blinded, case-control, validation study, we obtained sweat samples from inpatients and outpatients tested for SARS-CoV-2 by a polymerase chain reaction test. Medical detection dogs were trained to distinguish SARS-CoV-2-positive samples from SARS-CoV-2-negative samples using reward-based reinforcement. RESULTS: Samples were obtained from 584 individuals (6-97 years of age; 24% positive SARS-CoV-2 samples and 76% negative SARS-CoV-2 samples). In the testing phase, all dogs performed with high accuracy in detecting SARS-CoV-2. The overall diagnostic sensitivity was 98%, and specificity was 92%. In a follow-up phase, 1 dog screened 153 patients for SARS-CoV-2 in a hospital setting with 96% diagnostic sensitivity and 100% specificity. CONCLUSIONS: Canine olfaction is an accurate and feasible method for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, including asymptomatic and presymptomatic infected individuals" |
| Keywords: | SARS-CoV-2 canine olfaction medical detection dogs virus detection volatile organic compounds; |
| Notes: | "PubMed-not-MEDLINEMaurer, Maureen Seto, Todd Guest, Claire Somal, Amendeep Julian, Catherine eng 2022/07/13 Open Forum Infect Dis. 2022 May 7; 9(7):ofac226. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofac226. eCollection 2022 Jul" |
