The corona tracking dogs are confronted in a closed room with samples from tested people. “A sample is taken from under the armpits, the neck or the arms. It is put in a jar and the samples are given to the dogs.”
In a next step, dogs can be trained to walk around people. “That requires extra training. Not all dogs are suitable for this. Some dogs can be distracted and therefore they cannot respond optimally.”
The big advantage of corona testing with dogs is speed and cost. “French research shows that the average cost of a test by a dog costs about 1 euro. With a rapid test you can quickly speak of 30 to 40 euros per test and the PCR test costs 70 to 75 euros. In addition, the test with dogs much faster than a quick test. A quick test gives results after 15 to 30 minutes, a dog does it within a minute, “says Callewaert.
According to the microbiologist, dozens or hundreds of dogs will be trained in the coming weeks, now that it appears that such good results are being achieved. “This way we can cooperate this summer to return to a normal state.”
–
