{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,2]],"date-time":"2026-07-02T10:55:29Z","timestamp":1782989729242,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,13]],"date-time":"2022-04-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1649808000000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"The Swedish Cultural Foundation","award":["138527"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["138527"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004012","name":"Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["N\/A"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["N\/A"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004012","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"Evidensia","award":["N\/A"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["N\/A"]}]},{"name":"The Finnish Kennel Club","award":["N\/A"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["N\/A"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003125","name":"Suomen Kulttuurirahasto","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["70287"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["70287"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003125","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002341","name":"Academy of Finland","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["1336490 335527 336439"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1336490 335527 336439"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002341","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Finnish Governmental Subsidy for Health Science Research","award":["TYH 2018322"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["TYH 2018322"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Glob Health"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2022,3,14]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2022,5]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>To estimate scent dogs\u2019 diagnostic accuracy in identification of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 in comparison with reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We conducted a randomised triple-blinded validation trial, and a real-life study at the Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport, Finland.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Four dogs were trained to detect COVID-19 using skin swabs from individuals tested for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR. Our controlled triple-blinded validation study comprised four identical sets of 420 parallel samples (from 114 individuals tested positive and 306 negative by RT-PCR), randomly presented to each dog over seven trial sessions. In a real-life setting the dogs screened skin swabs from 303 incoming passengers all concomitantly examined by nasal swab SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR. Our main outcomes were variables of diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value) for scent dog identification in comparison with RT-PCR.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Our validation experiments had an overall accuracy of 92% (95% CI 90% to 93%), a sensitivity of 92% (95% CI 89% to 94%) and a specificity of 91% (95% CI 89% to 93%) compared with RT-PCR. For our dogs, trained using the wild-type virus, performance was less accurate for the alpha variant (89% for confirmed wild-type vs 36% for alpha variant, OR 14.0, 95%\u2009CI 4.5 to 43.4). In the real-life setting, scent detection and RT-PCR matched 98.7% of the negative swabs. Scant airport prevalence (0.47%) did not allow sensitivity testing; our only SARS-CoV-2 positive swab was not identified (alpha variant). However, ad hoc analysis including predefined positive spike samples showed a total accuracy of 98% (95% CI 97% to 99%).<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>This large randomised controlled triple-blinded validation study with a precalculated sample size conducted at an international airport showed that trained scent dogs screen airport passenger samples with high accuracy. One of our findings highlights the importance of continuous retraining as new variants emerge. Using scent dogs may present a valuable approach for high-throughput, rapid screening of large numbers of people.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjgh-2021-008024","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,23]],"date-time":"2022-05-23T13:38:35Z","timestamp":1653313115000},"page":"e008024","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":32,"title":["Scent dogs in detection of COVID-19: triple-blinded randomised trial and operational real-life screening in airport setting"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"7","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0004-1000","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anu","family":"Kantele","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Meilahti Vaccine Research Center, MeVac, Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland"},{"name":"Human Microbiome Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Juuso","family":"Paajanen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Heart and Lung Center, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Soile","family":"Turunen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland"},{"name":"Nose Academy Ltd, Kuopio, Finland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sari H","family":"Pakkanen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Meilahti Vaccine Research Center, MeVac, Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland"},{"name":"Human Microbiome Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anu","family":"Patjas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Meilahti Vaccine Research Center, MeVac, Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland"},{"name":"Human Microbiome Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laura","family":"Itkonen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elina","family":"Heiskanen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maija","family":"Lappalainen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"HUS Diagnostic Center, HUSLAB, Clinical Microbiology, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Loic","family":"Desquilbet","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biostatistics and Clinical Epidemiology, Ecole nationale v\u00e9t\u00e9rinaire d'Alfort, Maisons-Alfort, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Olli","family":"Vapalahti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"HUS Diagnostic Center, HUSLAB, Clinical Microbiology, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland"},{"name":"Departments of Virology and Veterinary Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anna","family":"Hielm-Bj\u00f6rkman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"93","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(20)32651-9","article-title":"Infectivity of asymptomatic versus symptomatic COVID-19","volume":"397","author":"Sayampanathan","year":"2021","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1167","DOI":"10.1016\/S2213-2600(20)30453-7","article-title":"False-positive COVID-19 results: hidden problems and costs","volume":"8","author":"Surkova","year":"2020","journal-title":"Lancet Respir Med"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMp2015897","article-title":"False negative tests for SARS-CoV-2 Infection - challenges and implications","volume":"383","author":"Woloshin","year":"2020","journal-title":"N Engl J Med"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1128\/JCM.02015-19"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.5","first-page":"1","article-title":"Real-time detection of a virus using detection dogs","volume":"2","author":"Angle","year":"2015","journal-title":"Front Vet Sci"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/jtm\/taaa020"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.applanim.2005.07.009"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2016.00047","article-title":"Canine detection of the volatilome: a review of implications for pathogen and disease detection","volume":"3","author":"Angle","year":"2016","journal-title":"Front Vet Sci"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1783","DOI":"10.1002\/bmc.3494","article-title":"Volatile organic compounds generated by cultures of bacteria and viruses associated with respiratory infections","volume":"29","author":"Abd El Qader","year":"2015","journal-title":"Biomed Chromatogr"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/ofid\/ofw051"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.e7396"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S1473-3099(19)30220-8"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12879-020-05251-9"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12879-021-05950-x"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0243122","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0243122","article-title":"Can the detection dog alert on COVID-19 positive persons by sniffing axillary sweat samples? A proof-of-concept study","volume":"15","author":"Grandjean","year":"2020","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0250158"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12879-021-05950-x"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.3390\/v13020143","article-title":"A 10-minute \u201cmix and read\u201d antibody assay for SARS-CoV-2","volume":"13","author":"Rusanen","year":"2021","journal-title":"Viruses"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s12859-021-04294-2","article-title":"HAVoC, a bioinformatic pipeline for reference-based consensus assembly and lineage assignment for SARS-CoV-2 sequences","volume":"22","author":"Truong Nguyen","year":"2021","journal-title":"BMC Bioinformatics"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3137","DOI":"10.3201\/eid2712.211631","article-title":"Incidence trends for SARS-CoV-2 alpha and beta variants, Finland, spring 2021","volume":"27","author":"Kant","year":"2021","journal-title":"Emerg Infect Dis"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.21","unstructured":"Rosner B . Fundamentals of biostatistics. 8th edn, 2016: 249\u201359."},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"p. 307","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2017.00307","article-title":"Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values: foundations, Pliabilities, and pitfalls in research and practice","volume":"5","author":"Trevethan","year":"2017","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.309.6947.102"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"n\/a","DOI":"10.1002\/sim.3841","article-title":"Dose-response analyses using restricted cubic spline functions in public health research","volume":"29","author":"Desquilbet","year":"2010","journal-title":"Stat Med"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"59","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jveb.2017.05.002","article-title":"Animal olfactory detection of human diseases: guidelines and systematic review","volume":"20","author":"Edwards","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journal of Veterinary Behavior"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.26","unstructured":"Guest C , Dewhirst SY , Allen DJ . Using trained dogs and organic semi-conducting sensors to identify asymptomatic and mild SARS-CoV-2 infections. Available: https:\/\/www.lshtm.ac.uk\/research\/centres-projects-groups\/using-dogs-to-detect-covid-19#results"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fsisyn.2021.100155","article-title":"Preliminary accuracy of COVID-19 odor detection by canines and HS-SPME-GC-MS using exhaled breath samples","volume":"3","author":"Mendel","year":"2021","journal-title":"Forensic Sci Int Synerg"},{"key":"2025072914023133000_7.5.e008024.28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"570","DOI":"10.1007\/s12024-014-9610-3","article-title":"Effect of age and storage conditions on the volatile organic compound profile of blood","volume":"10","author":"Forbes","year":"2014","journal-title":"Forensic Sci Med Pathol"}],"container-title":["BMJ Global Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.1136\/bmjgh-2021-008024","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,29]],"date-time":"2025-07-29T21:03:44Z","timestamp":1753823024000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/gh.bmj.com\/lookup\/doi\/10.1136\/bmjgh-2021-008024"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,5]]},"references-count":28,"journal-issue":{"issue":"5","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,16]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2022,5]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1136\/bmjgh-2021-008024"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bmjgh-2021-008024","relation":{},"ISSN":["2059-7908"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2059-7908","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,5]]}}}