DOGS could be frontline testers for Covid-19, thanks to research from North Berwick-born scientist Professor James Logan.

James, 42, is the head of disease control at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

New research by his team has revealed that trained detection dogs can sniff out the Covid-19 disease in seconds.

East Lothian Courier: Trained medical detection dogs could soon be deployed in Scottish airports to sniff out Covid-19

Trained medical detection dogs could soon be deployed in Scottish airports to sniff out Covid-19

James said: “When the dogs are offered the different odours from infected people or non-infected, they sniff those and, if they indicate correctly on a sample, they get a treat.

“We know that there is an odour for the Covid-19 disease and we have tested it with analytical chemistry machines in our labs.

“We do not know exactly what the odour is yet, but we know there is certainly an odour there.”

James suggested that medical detection dogs could eventually be deployed across East Lothian for big sporting events and theatre shows.

He added: “We could have dogs at Edinburgh Airport, but anywhere where there are lots of people, even workplaces for example.

“Where there a lot of people going through a gate and going to a show, that’s the kind of place you could have dogs for a screening.”

The next phase of the professor’s research will be introducing the trained dogs to public places to test their reaction in public.

He said: “We need to get the dogs out into the real world sniffing people as opposed to samples to demonstrate they can do it in the real world, like in an airport or a public space where there are lots of distractions.

“Once we work out how accurately the dogs can do it in that type of location, then we can work out best how to use them.”

James and his research team are in discussion with the UK Government about where might be best to deploy the dogs.

He said: “We are talking to the Government about how we might do that and how we can continue the testing strategy, but there is no other diagnostic test that compares to dogs in terms of speed and accuracy.

“You can screen up to 300 people per hour per dog using this method; you couldn’t do that with a PCR or a lateral flow test.

“The other remarkable thing is a lateral flow test works when you have a high amount of virus and that’s likely to be when you’re most infectious. A dog can detect when you have a high amount of virus but also when you have a low amount of virus and that was a real surprise in the study, so that is really important because people who are asymptomatic or at the early stages of infection, the dogs should be able to pick them out but the test can’t.”

James and his team at LSHTM are hopeful for the future.

He added: “The results have surpassed our expectations and we hope we can make a difference in this country but also in other countries around the world.

“The other exciting thing is, now that we know these types of viruses produce an odour and dogs can detect it, we could work towards being more prepared for the next pandemic.

“If we knew back in February last year what we know now, we could have had dogs deployed quickly to protect our borders and potentially deployed them to the country of origin to help contain the virus, so this could play a role in the future and that’s what we are hoping to do.”

James and his wife Kirsty, along with their five-year-old daughter and their cocker spaniel puppy, will return to East Lothian from London next month.

James said that he found lockdown difficult being miles away from his parents and home town of North Berwick.

His parents – Barbara, a carer in North Berwick, and George, retired – live on the outskirts of the town.

James added: “Lockdown has been pretty challenging.

“We have been doing this work, which has kept me incredibly busy, but the biggest challenge was not being able to get up to Scotland much.

“We managed to get up there once but we are missing the family and the beaches, and it’s part of the reason we are moving back.”

James will maintain his head of department role at LSHTM following his move back to Scotland.

He added: “If there is one thing this pandemic has taught us, it is that a lot of work can be done remotely, and that we can achieve a better work life balance.

“So I will have a base in East Lothian with my family and return to London when necessary.

“I used to spend three hours per day commuting by train and underground in London, so the occasional visit to London will be a breeze in comparison.”