SARS-CoV-2 detection dogs - a pilot study

The outstanding olfactory acuity of canines led us to consider whether dogs are able to reliably detect the odour of respiratory diseases associated with a SARS-CoV-2 infection in saliva or tracheobronchial secretion of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, we examined if SARS-CoV-2 detection dogs could provide an appropriate screening method for the human virus.The aim of this data publication is to provide the data acquired in the controlled, randomized and double-blinded pilot study `Scent dog identification of SARS-CoV-2 infection’ (submitted to BMC Infectious Diseases).