Interesting move, woof-woof!
In what can only be described as an amazing development in these COVID 19 times, it appears that there are sniffer dogs in Swiss trains at the moment, a facet that’s exhilarating and surprising in equal measure.
But the question is simple- just what purpose are the sniffer dogs in Swiss trains going to serve? The answer, unless you had little clue, is pretty simple- they’d help detect any existing cases of the damaging COVID 19 virus on board.
Now if that’s not fascinating, then one wonders, what really is?
The first signs of the outbreak of this interesting bit of news was confirmed by one of the leading news outlets in all of Switzerland: The Local!
And it’s none other than the researchers from the revered Geneva University Hospitals who must be credited with executing such an unusual but mighty effective idea in these times riddled with the pandemic. They are the guiding light for deploying the sniffer dogs in Swiss trains to help identify whether travellers are carrying the virus so that timely action can be taken to address the situation.
But central to the idea of tackling the morose COVID 19 situation in Switzerland is this pilot testing program. At the moment, only as many as three dogs are currently being trained to sniff out the Cornavirus on the trains.
The researchers from the Geneva University Hospitals are working in tandem with the dogs for a period of four weeks. Now how this works out is this- the dogs currently undergoing training, will be exposed to both- samples of sick as well as the healthy individuals. Post this first step, the dogs will undergo what’s called as a sweat-sniffing test. This is a crucial step in that it helps identify infected individuals.
The above course of steps was confirmed by the concerned body in Switzerland in an online statement.
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Interestingly, in a bid to encourage the dogs to prepare for this useful training, they are even being provided with toys, in addition to dog-food.
Here’s what a Swiss-based media platform highlighted in relation to the said story:
The four-legged sniffers, provided by the Swiss army and the UN Security Service, will be very effective — HUG speaks of a 90 percent accuracy rate — in detecting contaminations.
The three dogs, who are already used as drugs or explosives sniffers, will be deployed “everywhere where a source of infection is suspected – in schools, companies, at major events such as conferences or sporting events,” according to the HUG.
In the case of Covid-19, the dogs are trained to recognise infected human cells.
“A virus infection affects the smell, which differs depending on the pathogen”, according to Stefan Brotschi, who trains dogs for the Swiss army.
That being said, it is only in the event of the testing period being successful that the process can eventually be put into greater use across the mesmerizing country replete with sensational snow-clad peaks and the scintillating melange of lakes and rivers.
This study involving dogs, however, reports confirmed, is a joint study between the HUG (the largest University Hospital in Switzerland), the United Nations Department of Safety and Security, and the Swiss Army. It’s results are expected to arrive end of March.