Dogs Detecting COVID-19 From Sweat and Saliva of Positive People: A Field Experience in Mexico.

ABSTRACT:

Context

Molecular tests are useful in detecting COVID-19, but they are expensive in developing countries. COVID-19-sniffing dogs are an alternative due to their reported sensitivity (>80%) and specificity (>90%). However, most of the published evidence is experimental, and there is a need to determine the performance of the dogs in field conditions. Hence, we aimed to test the sensitivity and specificity of COVID-19-sniffing dogs in the field.

Methods

We trained four dogs with sweat and three dogs with saliva of COVID-19-positive patients, respectively, for 4.5 months. The samples were obtained from a health center in Hermosillo, Sonora, with the restriction to spend 5 min per patient. We calculated sensitivity, specificity, and their 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Result

SUBMITTER: Mancilla-Tapia JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9012113 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature