Dogs are famous for their superior sense of smell. They’ve been trained to sniff out drugs, pesky insects, and even missing people. Since last spring, scientists in several countries have been teaching dogs to identify the virus that causes Covid-19. Some of the pooches have learned to detect the disease by smelling human sweat.
Now a group of Covid-detecting canines is on duty at Helsinki Airport in Finland, a country in Europe. Here’s how the sniff test works: Passengers use wipes to collect sweat samples from their necks. A passenger places the wipe in a jar, which is put in front of a dog waiting in another room. Within 10 seconds, the dog can determine if the traveler has the virus. Researchers say the pooches can identify infected people even before they start to show symptoms.
The testing program in Helsinki will continue through the end of the year. Researchers in Finland say that if all goes well, using sniffer dogs could be a cheaper and faster option than other Covid tests.