Dogs are better at detecting coronavirus in humans than many fast lateral flow tests (LFTs), according to a French study which could mean canines are more widely deployed for mass virus screening in crowded places including airports. The dogs were also 91 per cent correct in identifying negative samples, the study showed. “These are excellent results, comparable with those of a PCR test,” Prof Jean-Marc Treluyer told Agence-France Presse. He said dogs would not replace polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which are significantly more reliable than LFT tests. The dogs detected 97 per cent of the 109 people whose PCR test subsequently proved positive, and 91 per cent of those whose PCR test was negative.

Source: The Irish Times May 20, 2021 14:27 UTC