Canine real-time detection of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the context of a mass screening event.
Nele Alexandra Ten HagenFriederike TweleSebastian MellerLisa WijnenClaudia SchulzClara SchonebergLothar KreienbrockMaren von Köckritz-BlickwedeAlbert OsterhausAnna-Lena BoeckKonstantin BoeckViktoria BondaVeronika PilchováFranziska Karola KaiserMariana Gonzalez HernandezHans EbbersJulia HinsenkampIsabell PinkNora DrickTobias WelteMichael Peter MannsThomas IlligAndreas PuyskensAndreas NitscheChristiane ErnstMichael EngelsEsther SchalkeHolger Andreas VolkPublished in: BMJ global health (2022)
Our results demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 scent detection dogs achieved high diagnostic accuracy in a real-life scenario. The vaccination status, previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, chronic disease and medication of the participants did not influence the performance of the dogs in detecting the acute infection. This indicates that dogs provide a fast and reliable screening option for public events in which high-throughput screening is required.