Posted on Feb 9, 2019 2021 at 7:30
They are called Malko, Eskiss and Marvel. These dogs from the ranks of the Gironde firefighters and the gendarmerie are usually assigned to other missions, such as the search for missing persons or narcotics. For four weeks, they have been following a somewhat special training: detecting the presence of the Covid-19 virus using a sample of human odor. The detection dog training protocol was developed and then scientifically validated by Professor Dominique Grandjean of the National Veterinary School of Alfort (Enva) through the “Nosaïs-Covid19” project.
Studies have shown that dogs achieve 95% sensitivity, “Roughly the equivalent of PCR tests”, explains Pierre-Marie Borne, veterinary doctor and project manager at Ceva Santé Animale. The company and the Bordeaux University Hospital have thus joined forces within the Cynocov project to validate the process on a more operational scale. The choice having been made to work on patients at the start of infection with low or low symptoms.
Preselection of patients
Sweat samples are taken using compresses passed under the armpits of patients in the infectious diseases department. The samples are sent to Libourne on the Ceva Santé Animale site, where the dogs spend four mornings a week with their dog handler. Thanks to the funnels in which the samples are placed, the dogs thus learn to progressively distinguish the samples from people with the virus, from neutral samples, then from healthy people. “Dogs have around 40 times more olfactory cells than humans, but their abilities are even greater. The training consists in enriching his olfactory library by teaching him to recognize a new scent ”, specifies Pierre-Marie Borne.
At the end of this six to eight week training, further tests will be carried out on important samples to check the dogs’ fitness. However, there is no question of using them instead of tests. “On the other hand, they could intervene in mobile structures as a method of preselecting patients to be tested”, specifies Pierre-Marie Borne.
L’initiative
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