Development of a safety protocol for training and using SARS-CoV-2 detection dogs: A pilot study

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jveb.2023.01.002
• Publication Date: 2023-01-06T02:06:05Z
• Authors: Yasemin Salgirli ...; Gorkem Kismali; Begum Saral; Baris Sareyyupoglu; Arif Dogan Habiloglu; Hakan Ozturk; Bulent Bas; Tarkan Ozvardar; Merve Alpay; Nevin Ince; Hale Canbay; Fatih Emen; Durmus At..lgan; Sevim Isparta; Elcin Ozgur; Idris Sahin; Gon..alo Da Gra.....; Aykut Ozkul
• Keywords: virus strain; Zoonotic potential; ultraviolet radiation; 0303 health sciences; nonhuman; SARS-CoV-2; polymerase chain reaction; animal experiment; virus culture; heating; Article; Canine Research; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Face mask; female; Medical detection dog; male; storage temperature; dog; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; controlled study; Decontamination; virus detection

Medical detection dogs have potential to be used to screen asymptomatic patients in crowded areas at risk of epidemics such as the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. However, the fact that SARS-CoV-2 detection dogs are in direct contact with infected people or materials raises important concerns due to the zoonotic potential of the virus. No study has yet recommended a safety protocol to ensure the health of SARS- CoV-2 detection dogs during training and working in public areas. This study sought to identify suitable decontamination methods to obtain nonpathogenic face mask samples while working with SARS-CoV-2 detection dogs and to investigate whether dogs were able to adapt themselves to other decontamination procedures once they were trained for a specific odor. The present study was designed as a four-phase study: (a) Method development, (b) Testing of decon- tamination methods, (c) Testing of training methodology, and (d) Real life scenario. Surgical face masks were used as scent samples. In total, 3 dogs were trained. The practical use of 3 different decontam- ination procedures (storage, heating, and UV-C light) while training SARS-CoV-2 detection dogs were tested. The dog trained for the task alerted to the samples inactivated by the storage method with a sensitivity of100 % and specificity of 98.28 %. In the last phase of this study, one dog of 2 dogs trained, alerted to the samples inactivated by the UV-C light with a sensitivity of 91.30% and specificity of 97.16% while the other dog detected the sample with a sensitivity of 96.00% and specificity of 97.65 %.