Sniffing Labrador retrievers join Thai coronavirus fight

Thailand has started deploying a canine virus-detecting squad to help identify people with COVID-19 as the country faces a surge in cases

BANGKOK -- Thailand has started deploying a canine virus-detecting squad in hopes of quickly identifying people with COVID-19 as the country faces a surge in cases, with clusters at construction sites, crowded slum communities and large markets. Angel, Bobby and Bravo are among six Labrador retrievers that have been trained by researchers at the veterinary faculty of Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University to sniff out a unique odor that people with COVID-19 produce in their sweat, the researchers say. Since May 10, the three have tested more than 1,000 samples from college staff, students and people outside the university. The results so far are impressive. After a few seconds of sniffing sweat samples placed in metal containers, the dogs can tell which people have COVID-19 infections. If there’s no trace of infection, the dog will walk pass the sample. If it is positive, it will sit in front of it.