As the world slowly reopens its borders, more safety measures are being put in place to protect travellers and curb the spread of COVID-19. Dubai has just become the first country to employ coronavirus-sniffing dogs at their airport.
Dubai opened their borders to tourists in July. Travellers must submit paperwork that includes proof of a negative COVID-19 test conducted within at least four days or 96 hours before departure, according to a statement by the Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management.
Another measure to curb the spread of coronavirus includes K9 sniffer dogs. In a video by Emirates News Agency, Major Salah Al Mazrooei from Dubai Police explains: ‘An area was dedicated to detect Covid-19 using K9 police dogs at Dubai International Airport. Samples are taken in collaboration with partners from Dubai Health Authority; results are out in less than one minute.’
Sweat samples are collected from visitors in an isolated room. In another room, the sniffer dogs smell the samples and sit down if they detect the virus. These results are available within less than a minute, and have a 92% accuracy.
The dogs do not come in contact with travellers, so those with a fear of dogs need not worry.
Watch the process here:
Across the world, researchers have been training dogs to sniff out COVID-19 in asymptomatic patients before they test positive. Their sense of smell is incredibly sensitive, and they can detect harmful diseases and viruses by sniffing samples from an infected person.
Infected cells produce volatile organic compunds (VOCs) with distinctive odours. These odours are present in human blood, saliva, urine, breath and feces.
Image credit: Pexels
