China News Service, May 25. According to a report by Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao on the 25th, a British study found that specially trained dogs can sniff the new crown virus. Such sniffer dogs can be widely deployed in airports, train stations or Any place where people gather, people can be screened quickly, just like spirit dogs are used to detect drugs or explosives.

This can greatly shorten the waiting line for inspection, and the cost is also very low.

Data map: On July 24, 2020, local time, a German military dog ​​was trained to sniff people infected with the new crown virus. The dog appeared wearing sunscreen and dust-proof sunglasses.

Screen "a large group of people" quickly and accurately?

　　Scientists from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine released a research report on Monday (May 24) that they divided the trained dogs that can sniff out the coronavirus into groups of two dogs. An average group of dogs can be quickly screened within half an hour. About 300 flight passengers, the sensitivity of detecting the virus is as high as 94.3% (that is, the false negative rate is low), and the specificity is as high as 92% (that is, the false positive rate is low).

　　Reports believe that pathogens produce unique volatile organic compounds, which are released by diseased cells to form a unique odor.

In an early study, researchers collected the socks and T-shirts they wore from the public and medical workers, and obtained a total of about 3,500 odor samples. The sniffer dogs can not only sniff out the asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic patients with the new coronavirus, but also The mutated coronavirus, which first appeared in the UK at the end of last year, cannot escape their sensitive nose.

　　Scientists said that people who were sniffed out by dogs with the new coronavirus in the experiment must then undergo polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, which can detect 91% of patients with the new coronavirus.

　　Logan, director of the Disease Control Department of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that compared with the current new coronavirus detection methods such as lateral flow detection, the advantage of sniffer dogs is that they can screen a large number of people extremely quickly and accurately.

　　He said: "The existing testing method is not suitable for rapid detection of a large group of people... If other outbreaks occur in the future, dogs can be quickly sent to screen the population, which will help stop the spread of the virus at the initial stage."

Data map: A new coronavirus sniffer dog being trained in Italy.

Sniffer dogs detect the new coronavirus with an accuracy of more than 90%

　　The accuracy of sniffer dogs to detect the new coronavirus is more than 90%. The Logan team pointed out that this is higher than the recommended accuracy level set by the World Health Organization for the new coronavirus detection method.

In contrast, the overall sensitivity of lateral flow detection is between 58% and 77%.

However, independent experts have warned that it remains to be seen whether sniffer dogs can be effective in detecting viruses in reality.

　　Younger, a virologist at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom, said: “The research on this demonstrative concept shows that trained sniffer dogs can be used in airports, stadiums, and concert venues. But the biggest problem is that it is not in samples of socks and clothes. , Can this method be effective on people in the real world."

　　At present, Finland, Germany, Chile and other countries have begun to test sniffer dogs at airports to detect whether passengers are infected with the coronavirus.