Sniffing Dogs May Hold the Answer to Safer Travel During Covid

Sniffing Dogs May Hold the Answer to Safer Travel During Covid

The airline industry, suffering major setbacks from a public who are still oftentimes reluctant to fly during Covid, is getting creative. So far, both the airlines and airport personnel have been great about doing temperature checks, implementing health apps, and even using robotic cleaners in doing their part to fight the spread of the virus.

As countries open back up to tourists in the wake of new Covid variants, it is now as important as ever to take all precautions at the world’s travel hubs. 

Recent trials in several airports worldwide may up the ante in our fight against Covid. Much like police dogs that sniff for drugs or bombs, specially-trained canines are being used to identify passengers with the Covid-19 virus. It is well known that dogs have a much higher sense of smell than humans. In fact, our furry friends have up to 100,000 times the smelling sensitivity of people, meaning they can be a tremendous help in Covid-19 screening measures at airports.

Because dogs can quickly detect the virus (and its variants, so far) in humans by scent, they are able to do up to 300 people per hour. That’s huge for major airports that regularly see thousands of passengers a day. 

Dubai International Airport

The very first airport to implement the program was Dubai International Airport back in July of 2020 when it first opened back up to tourists. A team of dogs was meticulously trained by a research lab using specialized equipment to detect coronavirus, and Dubai International was the first real-world example of putting this into practice. 

As some passengers are fearful of dogs, the work was done non-invasively: samples were taken from travelers’ armpits and placed in special containers so that the dogs could sniff the sample away from the subject, while also not disturbing the sample. The test results were returned in less than 60 seconds and proved to have about a 92% accuracy rate.

Helsinki International Airport

A team of four Medical Detection Dogs was deployed to Helsinki Airport in September 2020 as a state-run pilot scheme. The dogs were trained to detect the smell which is produced by people with Covid-19. Officials in Finland say that if the trial proved successful, they hope to implement it as a viable screening method in hospitals and care homes, as well as at cultural and sporting events. 

After passengers fly in and collect their luggage, they are asked to dab their skin with a wipe. That wipe is then put in a beaker and placed in a separate booth with others containing different control scents. Then the dog begins sniffing them, and if the wipe in question contains the virus, the dog is trained to yelp, paw, or lie down. If that happens, the passenger is then encouraged to take a free standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to verify the dog’s detection. In the case of the Helsinki Airport trial, the team of dogs were able to identify the virus with almost 100% accuracy. Sometimes days before the passenger exhibited any symptoms. 

While scientists are not quite sure exactly what it is the dogs are able to sniff, a French study published in June of 2020 found that there was “very high evidence” that the sweat aroma of people who were Covid-positive emitted a different odor to those who didn’t have the virus. In fact, dogs are able to detect a much smaller sample than standard PCR tests (about 10-100 molecules) compared to the required 18 million molecules needed by lab equipment. 

Furthermore, there is no indication that dogs can be infected with the virus, as they do not have the receptors necessary for the virus to gain a foothold on their system, nor can they transmit the virus to other people.

Miami International Airport

Just this month (September 2021) MIA became the first U.S. airport to implement the program. They are collaborating with the Global Forensic and Justice Center at Florida International University in conjunction with American Airlines to install its own dog-sniffing Covid detection trial. 

The 30-day trial period will involve two dogs, in which they are able to detect the metabolic changes in a person who has the virus and therefore produces compounds excreted by a person’s breath and/or sweat. The canine duo will be stationed at airport security, and if they detect a person who may be carrying the virus, that passenger will be pulled aside and a rapid COVID test will be performed. 

During their training, the dogs were said to have had a 96% to 99% success rate. If the 30-day trial proves successful at Miami International, the pilot program will expand to other county facilities. 

The Biggest Challenge Lies Ahead

Even though well-trained dogs are excellent at detecting those who are carrying the virus, the biggest challenge lies with scale up. For this trial to be implemented in airports and other high-traffic areas worldwide, an incredible number of dogs would have to be meticulously trained and deployed. 

While it is not feasible to train enough dogs for every airport and every flight, the middle ground is to roll out the program in a strategic manner. This could be factors such as high-risk flights that are coming in from highly infected countries, or flights where the passengers would normally be quarantined. These discussions are currently happening with the governments and their respective airports as to the best course of action.