Dogs trained to sniff out travelers with COVID-19 at Dubai International Airport
The United Arab Emirates says they have successfully trained dogs to sniff out COVID-19 on arriving passengers with a 92 percent success rate; Greg Palkot reports.
Looks like these pups are doing a doggone good job.
Dubai International Airport (DXB) is the first in the world to deploy a K-9 unit trained to detect coronavirus cases amid the global health crisis, with the dogs conducting over 400 tests in recent weeks at a reported accuracy of 91%.
The world’s busiest air hub for international travel dispatched the K-9 unit for quick COVID-19 testing earlier this month, SF Gate reports. All persons arriving in the United Arab Emirates must be tested for the viral disease prior to departure, and show proof of negative results for entry.
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In addition, Gulf News reported on Wednesday that Dubai Police’s K-9 unit has conducted 400 tests during the last three weeks of the trial, at an “impressive” overall accuracy of 91%.
In partnership with the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), "possibly-infected passengers" traveling through DXB enter a designated testing area to give a scent sample via a swab of their armpit, according to TravelPulse. From there, the trained canines are presented with the samples in another isolated room, sniffing the body scents through a funnel-like device.
If the dog detects what may be COVID-19, the passenger, left waiting for just a few minutes, is directed to take a nasal PCR test, per SFGate.
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“If the sample turns out positive, the dog will sit in front of it. It only takes a few minutes,” said Major Salah Khalifa Al Mazrouei, director of Dubai Police Security Inspection K-9 Unit, per Gulf News.
“The UAE is the first in the world to use K9 police dogs. We are in direct contact with experts in U.K. and France to train our dogs in detecting the virus,” Al Mazroui added.
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The Associated Press reports that DXB saw 86.4 million passengers in 2019, per MarketWatch.