Special "Covid dogs" that may be able to detect symptoms of coronavirus before they appear are to begin trials in the UK. The trials will form part of research into potential non-invasive, early-warning methods of detecting the virus, and are being backed by £500,000 of UK government funding.
The dogs, which are already used to sniff out diseases such as cancer, malaria and Parkinson's disease, will be given intensive training to spot Covid-19 before symptoms appear.
The first phase of the trials will be conducted by researchers at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), in collaboration with the charity Medical Detection Dogs (MDD) and Durham University.