Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Sniffing Labrador Retrievers Join Thai Coronavirus Fight
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
May 22, 2021

Share

BANGKOK — Thailand has started deploying a canine virus-detecting squad in hopes of quickly identifying people with COVID-19 as the country faces a surge in cases, with clusters at construction sites, crowded slum communities and large markets.

Angel, Bobby and Bravo are among six Labrador retrievers that have been trained by researchers at the veterinary faculty of Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University to sniff out a unique odor that people with COVID-19 produce in their sweat, the researchers say.

Since May 10, the three have tested more than 1,000 samples from college staff, students and people outside the university.

The results so far are impressive. After a few seconds of sniffing sweat samples placed in metal containers, the dogs can tell which people have COVID-19 infections. If there’s no trace of infection, the dog will walk pass the sample. If it is positive, it will sit in front of it.

Thai Research Team to Send Canines to COVID-19 Hotspots

Prof. Kaywalee Chatdarong, head of the research team, said she was aware that other countries have been using dogs to identify coronavirus infections, including Finland, the United Arab Emirates, Germany and India, but that she had no idea if it would work in Thailand because of the country’s spicy and flavorful cuisine.

Suwanna Thanaboonsombat, a volunteer who collects samples to bring to the lab, said the canine testers add a big element of convenience because they can check samples from people who can’t go out to be tested.

“People can simply put cotton balls underneath their armpits to collect sweat samples and send them to the lab. And the result is quite accurate,” Suwanna said.

The researchers plan to send the canine team out to communities suspected of being new COVID-19 hotspots. The dogs will work inside a mobile unit, while the collecting team can comb through the community collecting samples.

Dogs Can Become Infected But Spread is Considered Low

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, dogs are among a small number of pets that can become infected with the coronavirus, mostly after close contact with people with COVID-19. It says the risk of animals spreading the virus to people is considered low.

The Thai researchers said that as a safety precaution, they designed the sample containers so that the dogs’ noses do not contact the samples. They also believe the receptors on cells in dogs’ respiratory tracts are not a welcoming environment for the coronavirus to attack.

Kaywalee said that while dogs can provide a fast and cheap testing alternative, they do have limitations.

“5 p.m. is their dinner time. When it’s around 4:50, they will start to be distracted. So, you can’t really have them work anymore. And we can’t have them working after dinner either because they need a nap. They are living animals and we do have to take their needs and emotions into consideration,” she said.

“But for me, they are heroes and heroines.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

DON'T MISS

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

DON'T MISS

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

DON'T MISS

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

DON'T MISS

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

DON'T MISS

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

DON'T MISS

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

DON'T MISS

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

DON'T MISS

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

DON'T MISS

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

UP NEXT

Putin Says Russia Has Tested a New Intermediate Range Missile in a Strike on Ukraine

UP NEXT

What Will Happen to CNBC and MSNBC When They No Longer Have a Corporate Connection to NBC News?

UP NEXT

Pope to Make Late Italian Teenager Carlo Acutis the First Millennial Saint on April 27

UP NEXT

US Vetoes UN Ceasefire Resolution in Gaza Conflict

UP NEXT

Israeli Officials Demand the Right to Strike Hezbollah Under Any Cease-Fire Deal for Lebanon

UP NEXT

Spain Will Legalize Hundreds of Thousands of Undocumented Migrants in the Next 3 Years

UP NEXT

TSMC Walks a Geopolitical Tightrope

UP NEXT

Volunteers Came Back to Nonprofits in 2023, After the Pandemic Tanked Participation

UP NEXT

New Study: Proposed Trump Tariffs Could Cost US Consumers $78 Billion a Year

UP NEXT

Iran Defies International Pressure, Increasing Its Stockpile of Near Weapons-Grade Uranium, UN Says

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

9 hours ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

10 hours ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

10 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

10 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

11 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

11 hours ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

11 hours ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

11 hours ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

12 hours ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

12 hours ago

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

NEW YORK — Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, was chosen Thursday by Donald Trump to serve as U.S. attorney general hours after...

8 hours ago

8 hours ago

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

9 hours ago

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

9 hours ago

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

9 hours ago

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

President Joe Biden with Mary Barra, the chief executive of General Motors, at the Detroit Auto Show, Sept. 14, 2022. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to erase the Biden administration’s tailpipe rules designed to get carmakers to produce electric vehicles, but most U.S. automakers want to keep them. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
10 hours ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

10 hours ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

10 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at First Horizon Coliseum, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Greensboro, NC. (AP/Alex Brandon)
11 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend