Sniffer dogs performance is stable over time in detecting COVID-19 positive samples and agrees with the rapid antigen test in the field

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 3679 - 15
• Main Authors: Pirrone, Federica, Piotti, Patrizia, Galli, Massimo, Gasparri, Roberto, La Spina, Aldo, Spaggiari, Lorenzo, Albertini, Mariangela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 05.03.2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/601/18; 692/700/478; Airports; Animals; Antigens; Biological samples; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Dogs; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Immunologic Tests; Laboratories; Laboratory tests; multidisciplinary; Public transportation; Saliva; SARS-CoV-2; Schools; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Working Dogs

Rapid antigen diagnostic (RAD) tests have been developed for the identification of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, they require nasopharyngeal or nasal swab, which is invasive, uncomfortable, and aerosolising. The use of saliva test was also proposed but has not yet been validated. Trained dogs m...