Covid-19 has a distinct smell that can be detected by specially trained dogs with up to 94% accuracy, research suggests. In a new study, the highly trained canines can detect the virus in seconds - faster than PCR and more accurate than lateral flow tests.
The findings, not yet peer-reviewed, are based on six dogs who tested more than 3,500 odour samples donated by the public and NHS staff.
The eager dogs were able to sniff out samples from people infected with coronavirus but asymptomatic, as well as those who had low viral loads.