Sniffing out safety: canine detection and identification of SARS-CoV-2 infection from armpit sweat

Frontiers in Medicine

Medicine

Leen D’Hoore¹  Alain Plumacker²  Sonia Piret³  Gilles Darcis⁴  Benoit Misset⁵  Chris Callewaert⁶  Alexander Aksenov⁷  Ali Lotfi⁷  Alexey Melnik⁷  Kurt Anseeuw⁸  Els Tobback⁹  Frank Gasthuys^1,10  Brecht De Tavernier^1,11  Maria Pezavant^1,12  Hugues Guyot^1,12  Rony Vandaele^1,13  Phaedra Van Goethem^1,13  Bart Meeus^1,13  Ellen Vankrunkelsven^1,13  Lander De Vleeschouwer^1,14  Julie Catteeuw^1,15  Anouck Ottevaere^1,16  Jean-Christophe Marot^1,17  Gregoire Wieers^1,18  Linos Vandekerckhove^1,19  Ilke Montag^2,20  Stijn Jonckheere^2,21  Patricia Vandecandelaere^2,21  Dominique Grandjean^2,22  Frank Staelens^2,23  Kristel Van Varenbergh^2,23  Sofie Tombeur^2,23  Sebastiaan Tuyls^2,24  Miguel Stevens^2,25 

[1] Belgian Defence, Brussels, Belgium;Department of Emergency Medicine, ZNA, Antwerp, Belgium;CHU Saint-Pierre Hospital, Brussels, Belgium;CHU-Bruyères, Intensive Care Unit, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium;CHU-Sart-Tilman, Infectious Diseases – Internal Medicine, Public Health Sciences, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium;CHU-Sart-Tilman, Intensive Care Unit, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium;Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium;Department of Chemistry, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States;Department of Emergency Medicine, ZNA, Antwerp, Belgium;Department of General Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium;Department of Surgery, Anesthesiology and Orthopedics of Large Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium;Emergency Medicine and Intensive Care, GasthuisZusters (GZA) Hospital Group, Antwerp, Belgium;Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Clinique Vétérinaire Universitaire (CVU), University of Liège, Liège, Belgium;Federal Police Belgium, Linter, Belgium;General Hospital (AZ) Glorieux Hospital, Ronse, Belgium;General Hospital (AZ) Jan Palfijn, Ghent, Belgium;General Hospital (AZ) Oudenaarde, Oudenaarde, Belgium;General Internal Medicine, Clinique Saint-Pierre Ottignies, Ottignies, Belgium;General Internal Medicine, Clinique Saint-Pierre Ottignies, Ottignies, Belgium;Namur Research Institute for Life Sciences (Narilis) and Department of Medicine, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium;HIV Cure Research Center, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium;Jan Yperman Hospital, Ypres, Belgium;Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology, Jan Yperman Hospital, Ypres, Belgium;Nosaïs Program, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort (Alfort School of Veterinary Medicine), University Paris-Est, Maisons-Alfort, France;Onze Lieve Vrouwziekenhuis (OLVZ), Aalst, Belgium;Respiratory Medicine, GasthuisZusters (GZA) Hospital Group, Antwerp, Belgium;Veterinary, Ypres, Belgium;

关键词: COVID-19;    detection dogs;    GC/MS (gas chromatograph/mass spectrometry);    acceptability analysis;    odor;    axilla;    vaccination;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmed.2023.1185779

 received in 2023-03-14, accepted in 2023-08-14,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Detection dogs were trained to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection based on armpit sweat odor. Sweat samples were collected using cotton pads under the armpits of negative and positive human patients, confirmed by qPCR, for periods of 15–30 min. Multiple hospitals and organizations throughout Belgium participated in this study. The sweat samples were stored at −20°C prior to being used for training purposes. Six dogs were trained under controlled atmosphere conditions for 2–3 months. After training, a 7-day validation period was conducted to assess the dogs’ performances. The detection dogs exhibited an overall sensitivity of 81%, specificity of 98%, and an accuracy of 95%. After validation, training continued for 3 months, during which the dogs’ performances remained the same. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis revealed a unique sweat scent associated with SARS-CoV-2 positive sweat samples. This scent consisted of a wide variety of volatiles, including breakdown compounds of antiviral fatty acids, skin proteins and neurotransmitters/hormones. An acceptability survey conducted in Belgium demonstrated an overall high acceptability and enthusiasm toward the use of detection dogs for SARS-CoV-2 detection. Compared to qPCR and previous canine studies, the detection dogs have good performances in detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans, using frozen sweat samples from the armpits. As a result, they can be used as an accurate pre-screening tool in various field settings alongside the PCR test.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Callewaert, Pezavant, Vandaele, Meeus, Vankrunkelsven, Van Goethem, Plumacker, Misset, Darcis, Piret, De Vleeschouwer, Staelens, Van Varenbergh, Tombeur, Ottevaere, Montag, Vandecandelaere, Jonckheere, Vandekerckhove, Tobback, Wieers, Marot, Anseeuw, D’Hoore, Tuyls, De Tavernier, Catteeuw, Lotfi, Melnik, Aksenov, Grandjean, Stevens, Gasthuys and Guyot.