Dogs trained to sniff malaria

It was known that dogs could feel in humans the signs of certain cancers and the risk of diabetic coma. Researchers believe they have also been able to train them to sniff malaria in children who do not have symptoms yet, thanks to the socks.

Researchers from the United Kingdom and experts from the NGO Medical Detection Dogs in The Gambia conducted the experiment, which consisted of training dogs for months to stop when they sniffed a contaminated sock. Their results were presented Monday at the annual conference of the American Society of Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The socks came from Gambian children, some of whom had tested positive for the malaria parasite but had no fever.

Tested after their training, the dogs correctly detected 70% of the socks of children infected by the malaria parasite, which generates a distinct odor on the human skin, and that the super canine smell apparently manages to feel, even if it is only traces on a sock.

The goal of this technique is to have a rapid, inexpensive and non-invasive detection test to detect malaria, which is transmitted by infected mosquitoes. The annual death toll is estimated at 445,000 worldwide. And the number of cases has increased in recent years, according to the World Health Organization.

Researchers believe that their technique can still improve in precision, as dogs are trained on more socks. For the experiment, the socks had been frozen in the UK during training, which may have limited effectiveness.

According to Steven Lindsay, an entomologist at the British University of Durham and lead author of the study, the technique could one day be used "at entry points in countries, just as dogs are trained to detect fruit. , vegetables or drugs at airports ".

"This could help prevent the spread of malaria in countries that have eradicated it, and allow people who do not know they are infected with the malaria parasite to receive an antimalarial drug," he said.