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With their keen sense of smell, dogs can track down bombs and drugs, but new research suggests that they can also detect malaria in humans.
If confirmed by other studies, dogs may one day be used to help detect malaria early, when the treatment is most effective.
The study included two dogs – a Labrador retriever and a Labrador-Golden retriever – who have been trained to detect the disease by the scent. A third dog, a Springer Spaniel named Freya, has since been added to the team.
The dogs sniffed nylon socks worn by 30 children infected with the malaria parasite and 145 uninfected children. The children, aged 5 to 14, came from the Upper River region of The Gambia, West Africa.
Dogs have correctly identified 70% of children with malaria and 90% of uninfected children, according to a study presented on Monday, October 28, 2018 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, at the New Orleans.
Preliminary steps
"Although our findings are at an early stage, we have in principle shown that dogs can be trained to detect people infected with malaria by their odor with a credible degree of accuracy," said the investigator. Chief Steve Lindsay. He is a professor in the Department of Biosciences at Durham University in the United Kingdom.
"This could provide a non-invasive way to screen for disease in ports of entry in the same way that sniffer dogs are commonly used to detect fruits and vegetables or drugs at airports," Lindsay said in a statement. press release issued by the university.
"This could help prevent the spread of malaria in countries declared malaria-free and also guarantee – many of them might not know that they are infected with the malaria parasite – receive antimalarial treatment for the disease, "said Lindsay.
In 2016, there were 216 million malaria cases worldwide, an increase of 5 million from the previous year. According to the World Health Organization, there were about 445,000 deaths from malaria in 2016.
Study co-author James Logan added, "Our progress in malaria control has stagnated in recent years, so we desperately need new and innovative tools to help fight the fight against malaria. malaria ". Logan is Head of the Disease Control Department at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
"Our results show that sniffer dogs could be a serious way to diagnose people with no symptoms but who are still contagious, faster and easier," said Logan.
Research presented at meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Image credit: iStock
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