At Marseille airport, sniffer dogs detect people infected with Covid

REPORTAGE

It is a new tool in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic.

In Marseille, the marine firefighters have already trained two of their dogs to spot contaminated people by smell, thanks to their extremely sensitive olfactory capacities.

This system supports the precautions already in place at Marseille-Provence airport, located in Marignane. 

"Interpreting dog behavior changes"

In the queue of the border police, travelers therefore note an unusual presence: a Dutch shepherd, at the foot of his master.

The firefighters try to reassure the intrigued passengers.

"He will sniff you a little, don't worry ... He is looking for people who would be infected with Covid-19", sums up one of them.  

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As everyone passes by, the dog sniffs his hands, shoes or even luggage, under the watchful eye of the dog handler Stéphane, attentive to the slightest reaction.

"If it were to detect the Covid on a person, I have to interpret a little bit to see the changes in the dog's behavior," he explains. 

Their sensitivity would be 92%

The use of these dogs aims both to strengthen and ultimately simplify the control devices already present with the passengers, according to Eric, the chief master of the marine firefighters.

"You can absolutely have a negative test 48 hours before, and be positive the next day," he says.

"The advantage of the dog is the speed of execution, which means that it will be able to go up a line of 40 people in three minutes."

According to the marine firefighters, the sensitivity rate of his dogs to the detection of Covid would be 92%.