Trained sniffer dogs to be sent to airport to detect asymptomatic COVID-19 cases

[sambum]

On 3/16/2021 at 3:20 PM, Justgrazing said:

 

So it'll be your word against the dogs then .. cant see folk wagging their tails in anticipation of flying in if they are being met by mutt's waiting to snout them .. and where are they gonna be sniffing as well is of concern .. 

"and where are they gonna be sniffing as well is of concern .."

Got something to hide? Hmmm? 

[Jonathan Swift]

On 3/16/2021 at 2:58 PM, ThailandRyan said:

You just can not make this stuff up.  Next they will deploy the dogs to sniff and see if the tourists arriving have enough money in their wallets, and of course the needed insurance.  So then of course there will be no need for the IO to ask or check. On leaving Thailand the dogs will sniff them to make sure they do not have any more cash left, and then they will be found to have Covid so off to the hospital to garner the last amount of money from the Insurance company.  Just saying.

 

This post may contain portions of sarcasm or it may not.

It does sound funny doesn't it? But dogs can be trained to smell certain kinds of cancers, they can detect oncoming seizures in epileptics, they are amazing creatures. If you were to study the subject, a dogs sense of smell is truly astounding and remarkable. The expanded capacity and usefulness of dogs in this way is good news, so it doesn't make much copy in mainstream media and most people probably have not heard of it, but this is a valid thing, I have read about these dogs in other media sources, so comical or not, it is a very progressive move on the part of Thailand, and I respect this country for this and many other progressive and cutting edge policies and strategies. And OK, will the police be properly trained in order to make this work? Let's cut them some slack. This is all new. God bless them, Thailand, you and me, and all of us who have survived. The vaccine is here, and all the other stuff is mere inconvenience to us farang. If this link is allowed, there was a study in which the dogs were 75% - 100% accurate in detecting Covid when normal tests were negative. Here is an excerpt: 

The COVID-19 Study

With the influx of COVID-19 cases, it makes sense that researchers would want to find a way to apply this science to detecting positive samples of the virus. One of the first studies took sweat samples from 177 possible COVID-19 patients in five different hospitals in Paris and Beirut. They then used these sweat samples to train 14 dogs, six of which were further tested in the study.

 

Link:    https://www.lung.org/blog/can-dogs-detect-covid-19#:~:text=The COVID-19 Study&text=They then used these sweat,further tested in the study.&text=Amazingly%2C Sarkis found that his,time%2C according to unpublished results.

[Jonathan Swift]

33 minutes ago, bluedoc said:

Why don’t they use the dogs to sniff out their own people that have Covid. That would be a better use or are they worried they would find to many.

How do you know that this is not being done? But since you seem to be another whining victim of Thai "racism" let me 'splain it to you: The biggest threat from Covid is from foreigners bringing it into the country. It is not from the general Thai population. And we all know the tests are not perfect and may not reveal asymptomatic carriers of the virus. Anything, such as this, which can enhance screening and tighten the barrier against the virus is essential and should absolutely be implemented. I daresay it will make things safer even for YOU. But I wonder, if you have such disdain for the inequities here, and are so inclined to complain, what are you doing here? Are things that much better where you're from? 

[Jonathan Swift]

22 hours ago, WineOh said:

did I get off at the wrong stop?

like cloud cuckoo land?

this place is mad!

Yes, the big real world can be confusing to people who don't keep up with the times. Ever actually read up on the subject? Dogs can be trained to sniff out just about anything including diseases. Dogs HAVE been trained to detect Covid with a high degree of accuracy, between 75% and 100% accuracy.  There, I just did the heavy lifting for you. If your reading skills are lacking, you can find youtube videos on the subject. To be fair, this is a world which is advancing so rapidly in science and technology that if you blink twice you will miss a dozen major leaps forward, and this is one of them. But come on. Instead of wasting time embarrassing yourself in this forum with your uninformed remarks, why not research a subject before you answer? yeah, you know, learn something instead of just sitting taking up space. 

[Jonathan Swift]

3 hours ago, potless said:

I read that dogs may be able to detect the virus at an early stage whereas an RT-PCR test may not. That has to be a bonus. 

You read correctly. Not only that, but they make great pets and companions. I don't mean that to sound dumb, but it is their devotion and eagerness to please humans that enable them to be trained in this way. they will do anything for a treat and a pat on the head

[Jonathan Swift]

1 hour ago, Burma Bill said:

For reference (CTV News):-

Specially trained dogs are highly effective at sniffing out the presence of COVID-19 in human sweat, according to a new study, which bolsters existing evidence and suggests that dogs could play a key role in efforts to control the virus.

 

that would be me - the king of stinkfoot. My palms and soles of my feet sweat excessively - it's genetic. Poor doggies. 

[madmen]

So a dog can sniff the difference between the flu virus and carona virus on the spot, no tests ? If I was a doctor I would be afraid, I would be very afraid 

 

[Jonathan Swift]

30 minutes ago, sambum said:

"and where are they gonna be sniffing as well is of concern .."

Got something to hide? Hmmm? 

They can stick their noses halfway up my a.r.$.e if it keeps me out of quarantine. methinks it a good idea to bring a bag of doggy treats

[Jonathan Swift]

7 hours ago, Speedhump said:

Someone else here has said that COVID detecting dogs in Finland have been 95 pct effective. 

So, strange but true. 

Correct. Here is an excerpt:

 

The COVID-19 Study

With the influx of COVID-19 cases, it makes sense that researchers would want to find a way to apply this science to detecting positive samples of the virus. One of the first studies took sweat samples from 177 possible COVID-19 patients in five different hospitals in Paris and Beirut. They then used these sweat samples to train 14 dogs, six of which were further tested in the study.

 

[Jonathan Swift]

On 3/16/2021 at 3:26 PM, potless said:

As arrivals are whisked off to quarantine anyway and undergo 2 tests, what is the use of it? If or when these dogs are used, a better place to patrol would be the markets. Then again, they will possibly run off with the meat.

Covid has nothing to do with meat or markets. The manner in which it spreads is now well known and documented: aerosol micro droplets from speaking, breathing, and coughing into another person's immediate space.. Are you the only person left in the world who does not know this? Do you ever read anything but tabloids? You must live in a very small, sad world

[Emdog]

I wonder what sort of training regimen the dogs go through. You'd think they would need lots of positive examples (infected people) and not infected so they could differentiate. Any reports of dog training at hospitals? Might be easier to do in Finland as many infected there, but the numbers reported here by government are so low (cough, cough) that could be an issue...

[sambum]

34 minutes ago, Jonathan Swift said:

You read correctly. Not only that, but they make great pets and companions. I don't mean that to sound dumb, but it is their devotion and eagerness to please humans that enable them to be trained in this way. they will do anything for a treat and a pat on the head

"they will do anything for a treat and a pat on the head"

Sounds like a politicians dream canvasser!

[DJBenz]

25 minutes ago, Emdog said:

I wonder what sort of training regimen the dogs go through. You'd think they would need lots of positive examples (infected people) and not infected so they could differentiate. Any reports of dog training at hospitals? Might be easier to do in Finland as many infected there, but the numbers reported here by government are so low (cough, cough) that could be an issue...

https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-020-05281-3

Quote

Eight detection dogs were trained for 1 week to detect saliva or tracheobronchial secretions of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients in a randomised, double-blinded and controlled study.

I guess, given the number of infected people across the globe, samples of infected fluids aren't in short supply!

[metisdead]

Some posts using trolling images have been removed. 

[rioD]

So now Thai police dogs are going to become trained doctors. Comical !! 

 

[rioD]

If COVID spreads so easily wouldn't the dogs all become infected carriers

[treetops]

On 3/16/2021 at 10:38 AM, edwardandtubs said:

When you say "this place" do you mean the world because many other countries are planning to do the same?

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-53851805

Some posters seem rather narrow minded. Dogs can do more than fetch sticks.

The charity that does the training mentioned in this article have just been on UK television this morning showing the dogs being trained etc. for Covid detection.

Crimewatch Roadshow at 11:00am GMT on 17/5/21 for anyone interested.  I guess it'll be on catch up TV.

[potless]

8 hours ago, Jonathan Swift said:

Covid has nothing to do with meat or markets. The manner in which it spreads is now well known and documented: aerosol micro droplets from speaking, breathing, and coughing into another person's immediate space.. Are you the only person left in the world who does not know this? Do you ever read anything but tabloids? You must live in a very small, sad world

The original article states that sniffer dogs are to be deployed at airports. All current arrivals are taken to quarantine, tested and contained. No problem there. However, there is a current problem with outbreaks within the community and the latest epicentre is, yet again, a market. So I think that the dogs would be more gainfully employed where largely untested individuals congregate, wherever that may be, as opposed to an airport where there are already precautions in place. At airports in the future, then yes, but I am more concerned with the here and now. Yes, I know how Covid spreads. My world is okay thanks.

[KhaoYai]

Keep a few biscuits in your pocket - you'll be fine.

[KhaoYai]

 

 

10 hours ago, Jonathan Swift said:

The manner in which it spreads is now well known and documented: aerosol micro droplets from speaking, breathing, and coughing into another person's immediate space.. Are you the only person left in the world who does not know this?

Are you the only person left in the world to be so arrogant and rude to another member - even when you're wrong?  Although aerosol droplets are the main way that Covid 19 spreads, its not the only way.

FACT: COVID-19 is NOT transmitted through houseflies

To date, there is no evidence or information to suggest that the COVID-19 virus transmitted through houseflies. The virus that cause COVID-19 spreads primarily through droplets generated when an infected person coughs, sneezes or speaks. You can also become infected by touching a contaminated surface and then touching your eyes, nose or mouth before washing your hands.

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters

Are you saying that meat cannot be contaminated with Covid 19? Seems to me that meat could very easily be a 'contaminated surface'.

Although I have no evidence it can be caught this way, I wouldn't want blood from a Covid 19 positive person either.

[webfact]

Thai sniffer dogs can detect COVID-19 in sweat, project shows
By Juarawee Kittisilpa

A dog is seen during its training to detect the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Songkhla, Thailand March 3, 2021. Chevron Thailand Exploration and Production/Handout via REUTERS

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai sniffer dogs trained to detect COVID-19 in human sweat proved nearly 95% accurate during training and could be used to identify coronavirus infections at busy transport hubs within seconds, the head of a pilot project said.

Six Labrador Retrievers participated in a six-month project that included unleashing them to test an infected patient's sweat on a spinning wheel of six canned vessels.

"The dogs take only one to two seconds to detect the virus," Professor Kaywalee Chatdarong, the leader of the project at the veterinary faculty of Thailand's Chulalongkorn University, told Reuters.

"Within a minute, they will manage to go through 60 samples."

The dogs can detect a volatile organic compound secreted in the sweat of COVID-19 sufferers, even in the absence of disease symptoms, the Thai researcher said.

The dogs would not need to directly sniff people, but could screen samples of sweat, a task that should not be difficult in a tropical country such as Thailand, she added.

A Thailand university said it has trained dogs to sniff out coronavirus with a high success rate, in a pilot that researchers hope would become an alternative method to effectively detect patients and those that are asymptomatic.

Chile, Finland and India are other countries that have also launched efforts to get sniffer dogs to detect the virus, with a German veterinary clinic saying last month its sniffer dogs had achieved 94% detection accuracy in human saliva.

"The next step is we will put them out in the field," said Kaywalee.

"In the future, when we send them to airports or ports, where there is an influx of commuters, they will be much faster and more precise in detecting the virus than temperature checks."

Thailand has been relatively successful in containing the virus, with a new wave of infections in the first two months of the year now levelling off and after recording 88 deaths.

The southeast Asian nation has also started vaccinating front-line health workers and hopes to find a way to let visitors return in greater numbers after its tourism-dependent economy was battered by the pandemic.

(Writing by Ed Davies; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-03-18

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[RichardColeman]

Supposedly it is possible for dogs to catch covid. And if they are constantly sniffing covid infected people it stands to reason they could become infected in doing their job. so, are these dogs regularly tested ? And is it possible to be infected with covid by a covid infected covid sniffer dog ? 

[Dialemco]

All this nonsense is very worrying 

[Millcx]

12 hours ago, rioD said:

So now Thai police dogs are going to become trained doctors. Comical !! 

 

Doh ..  5555555

[nobodysfriend]

Wow , my post just magically disappeared without leaving a trace or explanation ... this one will disappear as well , I presume ...

[hioctane]

3 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Supposedly it is possible for dogs to catch covid. And if they are constantly sniffing covid infected people it stands to reason they could become infected in doing their job. so, are these dogs regularly tested ? And is it possible to be infected with covid by a covid infected covid sniffer dog ? 

It said it the samples would be in “canned vessels” so they would be at no risk.

[Nanaplaza666]

43 minutes ago, hioctane said:

It said it the samples would be in “canned vessels” so they would be at no risk.

So everybody arriving at the airport has to let the IO catch their sweat put it in a "canned vessel" write your name on it then let the dog sniff them to find out who has the virus . I see big lines at the Immigration at the airport in the future . People have to take 2 extra days holliday just to go thru immi arriving and departing . On the other hand , the dogs might be more effective in detecting the virus then the PCR test of wich the inventor said it's not for detecting viruses . 

[dallen52]

53 minutes ago, Millcx said:

Doh ..  5555555

Most of the BiB are trained parachutists.

They all wear the jump insignia.

They all wear the uniform, but it doesn't make them a half dehalf-decent.

So hey, why not use the dogs?

[nickmondo]

when i read some of the comments, it reminds me why i have little contact with ex pats here in 
Thailand.

I am not sure if they become <deleted> when they get on the plane, or if they have perfected being one over their whole life.

why would anyone slag this article off?

you know that dogs can be trained to sniff out explosives, dead bodies, drugs, etc, etc, right?

seriously, sometimes i wonder how some of your m@@@@s get through the day unaided.

[Asquith Production]

14 minutes ago, nickmondo said:

when i read some of the comments, it reminds me why i have little contact with ex pats here in 
Thailand.

I am not sure if they become <deleted> when they get on the plane, or if they have perfected being one over their whole life.

why would anyone slag this article off?

you know that dogs can be trained to sniff out explosives, dead bodies, drugs, etc, etc, right?

seriously, sometimes i wonder how some of your m@@@@s get through the day unaided.

I quite agree. When these wonderful creatures are able to sniff out idiocy thats the time for some to worry