Volunteers needed for Covid-19 detection dog trial

Our researchers who are investigating whether specially trained dogs can sniff out Covid-19 in humans are asking people in the North West region of England for help with the trial. The trial will determine whether dogs could be used as a new rapid, non-invasive diagnostic tool for the virus. Before the dogs can be put through their paces, the research team need samples for these super sniffers to carry out their work, and that's where members of the public can help out. North West of England We are aiming to recruit thousands of people in the North West of England, a region which has experienced a recent rise in coronavirus cases, who have mild Covid-19 symptoms and are due to have a swab test, or have had a swab test conducted in the previous 24 hours. The volunteers will provide samples of breath and body odour by wearing a mask for three hours, and nylon socks and a t-shirt for twelve hours. Around 325 positive and 675 negative samples need to be collected in order to confidently ascertain if these dogs can accurately detect the disease. Dog training The project is a collaboration between the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Medical Detection Dogs and Durham University.