Testing idea

[jayem]

This will sound crazy. Apparently, there is now an FDA approved rapid test for SARS-CoV-2. It can detect viral RNA in a nasal or throat swab in 5 min. A negative result takes 13 min. Here's an idea that may be even faster. Use dogs. Their olfaction is 10,000 to 100,000 times more acute than ours. They can detect the presence of only a handful of molecules. Properly trained dogs can sniff a mole and tell if it's a melanoma. I'll bet the that a trained dog can smell viral protein and nucleic acid fragments present in a swabbed sample of respiratory secretions from a person colonized with SARS-Cov-2. No need for a machine and reagents. And the results should be known pretty quickly. Of couse, it would take time and money to train enough dogs to make this widely available. And testing the technique for accuracy will also take time. It might work best in places like airports or goverment buildings where many people need to be screened rapidly. Any think this is possible? Or is it bat-dung crazy?

 

[Sabertooth]

Any think this is possible?

See How Well Can Dogs Detect Cancer?

 

[MehGuy]

A negative result takes 13 min. Here's an idea that may be even faster. Use dogs. Their olfaction is 10,000 to 100,000 times more acute than ours. They can detect the presence of only a handful of molecules. Properly trained dogs can sniff a mole and tell if it's a melanoma. I'll bet the that a trained dog can smell viral protein and nucleic acid fragments present in a swabbed sample of respiratory secretions from a person colonized with SARS-Cov-2. No need for a machine and reagents. And the results should be known pretty quickly.

Yikes.. as someone who was born without a sense of smell.. this sense almost seems like a superpower.. lol.. but apparently even humans who can smell are pretty bad at it?

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

See How Well Can Dogs Detect Cancer?

So their sensitivity is high, but their specificity is low. We pick up all the caes, but also have a few extra who don't. In a pandemic situation, sensitivity is what matters. Anyone flagged would obviously then be quarantined until a conventional test could be done.

I don't think it a bad idea, but would work better for endemic infectious diseases, as it would take long to train the dogs. I do not expect Covid 19 to become endemic, meaning a recurrent disease in the population, based on what I have read.

 

[JIMINZ]

Any think this is possible? Or is it bat-dung crazy?

YES!