South African security company trains dogs to detect Covid-19

Published on : 03/05/2021 – 00:13

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In South Africa, a private security company is training its dogs to detect Covid-19. This company is used to working in South African airports where its canine brigades look for traces of explosives or shipments of drugs. Elsewhere in the world, anti-Covid-19 canine brigades have already been deployed at Dubai Airport in the United Arab Emirates or at Helsinki International Airport in Finland. Johannesburg’s turn soon? Report near OR Tambo International Airport, where dogs are trained for future deployment.

With our correspondent in Johannesburg, Romain Song,

A beautiful caramel-haired Labrador arrives in the warehouse. His name: MacGyver. The dog has a mission: to identify which of the 8 samples installed on a tourniquet contains the smell of Covid-19. Simple, efficient and fast training explains trainer Chelsea Mercado. ” We work with a lab that provides us with sweat samples from Covid-19 patients and we teach dogs which sample to find and how to indicate it by sitting in front for example. Then we reward the dog so that he understands that it is necessary to look for the target scent. »

MacGyver does not disappoint us. He’s got it all. According to several studies, the detection of Covid-19 by the nose of dogs is about 95% effective. If the method has been proven, its implementation is more complicated. Several avenues are being studied, explains Gideon Treurnich, head of dog trainers. ” The first way is to sniff the passenger directly. Another avenue is to ask the passenger to provide you with a sweat sample. Then you place this sample in a container for the dog to sniff it. »

This last method has an advantage: it allows the tests to be done away from the public, which is less discriminating and less impressive for passengers who are afraid of dogs.

« All the dogs we deploy at airports are friendly to people, affirm Gideon Treurnich. Nevertheless, some have an appearance that looks more aggressive than others. We must therefore ensure that the dogs patrolling the airports do not scare the passengers. »

If the method is approved, a new market opens up for this security company, anticipates Colonel Roberts, national operations manager. ” The virus is not going to go away soon so I think there is a long process to make sure it is effective. Then we can expand to other African countries. »

Five dogs have been trained and are said to be ready for deployment to Johannesburg International Airport. Ultimately, the goal is to train around 20 dogs to cover the main South African airports.

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