Dogs are truly amazing animals, and it’s no wonder so many of them are being used to contribute to scientific advancement. These animals have millions of sensors in their noses, much more developed than those of humans, capable of detecting hundreds of thousands of smells at the same time.
Thanks to this, there is a lot of research where dogs are used to try to smell diseases and contribute to the diagnosis of diseases such as cancer or malaria.
Malaria is a life-threatening disease that is transmitted through mosquitoes to humans. The bite of these female mosquitoes infected by the genus Anopheles is potentially dangerous for humans, although there is a cure and it is preventable.
According to the WHO, in 2019 there were an estimated 229 million cases worldwide , with Africa being the most affected continent.
Dog experiments
These data were decisive for several British researchers and the NGO Medical Detection Dogs , to carry out a very significant pilot experiment using dogs to detect malaria through smell.
The experts took 175 socks from children from the Gambia for two Labradors and a Springer Spaniel to determine if the disease is detectable through the smell of the dogs.
Indeed, the results of this research showed that the dogs matched 70% of the socks infected by malaria. The disease generates a particular odor in the human body, something that is perfectly detected by dogs.
The objective of this test was to have a model of rapid, inexpensive and minimally invasive detention to prevent malaria disease in places with high incidence.
Those responsible for the project published their conclusions at the annual conference of the American Society of Tropical Medicine in New Orleans , where they were very positive and enthusiastic about the results obtained through these tests with dogs.
The idea is that the dogs, once trained, are able to reach areas where it is difficult to set up a well-equipped laboratory to detect malaria. In addition, thanks to these investigations, dogs would be able to detect the disease before symptoms appear in possible infected.
This research also opens the door to the creation of electronic devices that contain the same olfactory capacities of dogs to act in the places with the most incidence in the world in the coming years.
