Scent dog identification of SARS-CoV-2 infections in different body fluids

BMC Infectious Diseases

Christiane Ernst¹  Michael Engels²  Esther Schalke²  Wencke Schäfer²  Katharina Marquart³  Anja Petrov³  Ulrich Schotte³  Anahita Fathi⁴  Marylyn Martina Addo⁴  Isabell Pink⁵  Tobias Welte⁵  Friederike Twele⁶  Paula Jendrny⁶  Sebastian Meller⁶  Holger Andreas Volk⁶  Michael Peter Manns⁷  Hans Ebbers⁸  Janek Ebbers⁸  Claudia Schulz⁹  Veronika Pilchová⁹  Albertus Dominicus Marcellinus Eras Osterhaus⁹  Maren von Köckritz-Blickwede^1,10 

[1] Bundeswehr Medical Service Headquarters, Koblenz, Germany;Bundeswehr School of Dog handling, Gräfin-Maltzan-Kaserne, Hochstraße, 56766, Ulmen, Germany;Central Institute of the Bundeswehr Medical Service Kiel, Kronshagen, Germany;Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University Medical-Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany;Department for Clinical Immunology of Infectious Diseases, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Bernhard-Nocht-Straße 74, 20359, Hamburg, Germany;German Center for Infection Research, Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Germany;Department of Respiratory Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany;Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 9, 30559, Hannover, Germany;Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany;KynoScience UG, Am Teutohang 51, 48477, Hörstel, Germany;Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559, Hannover, Germany;Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559, Hannover, Germany;Department of Biochemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559, Hannover, Germany;

关键词: SARS-CoV-2;    Volatile organic compounds;    Scent detection dogs;    Saliva;    Urine;    Sweat;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12879-021-06411-1

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe main strategy to contain the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic remains to implement a comprehensive testing, tracing and quarantining strategy until vaccination of the population is adequate. Scent dogs could support current testing strategies.MethodsTen dogs were trained for 8 days to detect SARS-CoV-2 infections in beta-propiolactone inactivated saliva samples. The subsequent cognitive transfer performance for the recognition of non-inactivated samples were tested on three different body fluids (saliva, urine, and sweat) in a randomised, double-blind controlled study.ResultsDogs were tested on a total of 5242 randomised sample presentations. Dogs detected non-inactivated saliva samples with a diagnostic sensitivity of 84% (95% CI: 62.5–94.44%) and specificity of 95% (95% CI: 93.4–96%). In a subsequent experiment to compare the scent recognition between the three non-inactivated body fluids, diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 95% (95% CI: 66.67–100%) and 98% (95% CI: 94.87–100%) for urine, 91% (95% CI: 71.43–100%) and 94% (95% CI: 90.91–97.78%) for sweat, 82% (95% CI: 64.29–95.24%), and 96% (95% CI: 94.95–98.9%) for saliva respectively.ConclusionsThe scent cognitive transfer performance between inactivated and non-inactivated samples as well as between different sample materials indicates that global, specific SARS-CoV-2-associated volatile compounds are released across different body secretions, independently from the patient’s symptoms. All tested body fluids appear to be similarly suited for reliable detection of SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals.

【 授权许可】

CC BY