Access to testing for the novel coronavirus has been a nightmare for countries around the world, but police in Dubai are looking at a new approach to detect positive cases of the virus known as Covid-19: sniffer dogs.
To combat the lack of testing accessibility, police in the emirate have turned to their K9 forces, initiating a new training programme modeled after one in the UK that is teaching dogs how to sniff out the virus in people.
‘In principle, we’re sure that dogs could detect Covid-19’
–Dr. Claire Guest, CEO of Medical Detection Dogs
It is not the first time humans have looked to dogs for help in detecting medical conditions, from malaria to cancer, Parkinson’s, epilepsy and diabetes. For decades, dogs have lent humans their keen sense of smell to identify those in need of medical attention.
In fact, some research has shown that dogs are able to detect