UCSB unleashes research on COVID-sniffing dogs

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.— Dogs are considered man’s best friend, but can these furry companions also be man’s best doctor?

We spoke to UCSB Professor Tommy Dickey, who has some surprising findings.

From alerting owners to potential intruders to sensing impending disasters, the power of a dog cannot be overstated. 
 
“Dogs already have the ability to like know when like an owner is about to have a seizure or they can detect like if an earthquake is about to happen. Like there's a lot of things that they can detect naturally that we don't are not necessarily privy to before they are,” says dog owner Jessica McGuire.
 
You can add disease detection to the list.
 
According to peer reviewed research by UC Santa Barbara Professor Tommy Dickey, medical scent dogs are an effective way to screen people for COVID-19.
 
“One of the investigators from Columbia came out and said that our PCR is no longer the gold standard. It's the dog. Yeah, that's shocking,” said UCSB Professor Tommy Dickey.
 
Dogs trained to detect the COVID-19 virus and its variants are able to do so in seconds and with the same level of accuracy as a PCR test. 
 
Researchers say faster detection can stop the spread of the virus, and save lives.
 
“The diseases increase when they're in a population basically exponentially. So the longer the wait is between your test and your result, that that's a latent period. During that time you're running around spreading COVID and you don't know it, the dogs with a direct sniff will be done in seconds,” said Dickey.
 
The dogs also have the ability to differentiate between different strains of the virus itself, and even different illnesses. 
 
Professor Dickey says this research has the ability to revolutionize the medical industry.