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NEW ORLEANS—Dogs can be trained to sniff out malaria in humans, according to research presented at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Meeting.
Researchers found that dogs could detect malaria by sniffing socks worn by children from a malaria-endemic area of West Africa.
“While our findings are at an early stage, in principle, we have shown that dogs could be trained to detect malaria-infected people by their odor with a credible degree of accuracy,” said study investigator Steve Lindsay, PhD, of Durham University in Durham City, U.K.
Dr. Lindsay presented these findings at the meeting as abstract 32.
The research began in The Gambia, where 600 school children were recruited to join the study. They were checked for overall general health, sampled for malaria parasites, and fitted with a pair of socks they were asked to wear overnight.
The next day, the socks were collected. The socks were sorted according to the malaria infection status of the children. The researchers only selected socks from uninfected children and children with malaria who did not have fever.
The socks were shipped to the United Kingdom, where they were stored in a freezer for several months while dogs were trained to sniff out malaria.
The dogs had to distinguish between socks from children with malaria parasites and socks from uninfected children. The animals were trained to sniff each sample, freeze if they thought they detected malaria, and move on if they did not.
In total, 175 sock samples were tested, including those from 30 malaria-positive children and those from 145 uninfected children.
The dogs correctly identified 70% of the infected children and 90% of the uninfected children.
Dr. Lindsay and his colleagues believe that, with more training and more samples, the dogs could provide a level of accuracy approaching that of a clinical test.
Now, the researchers are considering a follow-up study that would take samples from people in different parts of Africa to test whether parasites from one part of the continent present odors that are different from another part of the continent.
As for putting malaria-detecting dogs to work in the field, Dr. Lindsay said they could be helpful assistants in malaria elimination campaigns.
Currently, the only way to address the problem of asymptomatic malaria carriers is to test or treat an entire community. Dr. Lindsay said detection dogs could be useful for significantly narrowing the focus of clinical testing and treatment efforts.
Dr. Lindsay also believes detection dogs could be used at ports of entry into countries that have eliminated malaria or are close to elimination.
“This could provide a non-invasive way of screening for the disease at ports of entry in a similar way to how sniffer dogs are routinely used to detect fruit and vegetables or drugs at airports,” he said.
“This could help prevent the spread of malaria to countries that have been declared malaria-free and also ensure that people, many of whom might be unaware that they are infected with the malaria parasite, receive antimalarial drug treatment for the disease.”
Dr. Lindsay and his colleagues’ research was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Lindsay reported no conflicts of interest.
NEW ORLEANS—Dogs can be trained to sniff out malaria in humans, according to research presented at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Meeting.
Researchers found that dogs could detect malaria by sniffing socks worn by children from a malaria-endemic area of West Africa.
“While our findings are at an early stage, in principle, we have shown that dogs could be trained to detect malaria-infected people by their odor with a credible degree of accuracy,” said study investigator Steve Lindsay, PhD, of Durham University in Durham City, U.K.
Dr. Lindsay presented these findings at the meeting as abstract 32.
The research began in The Gambia, where 600 school children were recruited to join the study. They were checked for overall general health, sampled for malaria parasites, and fitted with a pair of socks they were asked to wear overnight.
The next day, the socks were collected. The socks were sorted according to the malaria infection status of the children. The researchers only selected socks from uninfected children and children with malaria who did not have fever.
The socks were shipped to the United Kingdom, where they were stored in a freezer for several months while dogs were trained to sniff out malaria.
The dogs had to distinguish between socks from children with malaria parasites and socks from uninfected children. The animals were trained to sniff each sample, freeze if they thought they detected malaria, and move on if they did not.
In total, 175 sock samples were tested, including those from 30 malaria-positive children and those from 145 uninfected children.
The dogs correctly identified 70% of the infected children and 90% of the uninfected children.
Dr. Lindsay and his colleagues believe that, with more training and more samples, the dogs could provide a level of accuracy approaching that of a clinical test.
Now, the researchers are considering a follow-up study that would take samples from people in different parts of Africa to test whether parasites from one part of the continent present odors that are different from another part of the continent.
As for putting malaria-detecting dogs to work in the field, Dr. Lindsay said they could be helpful assistants in malaria elimination campaigns.
Currently, the only way to address the problem of asymptomatic malaria carriers is to test or treat an entire community. Dr. Lindsay said detection dogs could be useful for significantly narrowing the focus of clinical testing and treatment efforts.
Dr. Lindsay also believes detection dogs could be used at ports of entry into countries that have eliminated malaria or are close to elimination.
“This could provide a non-invasive way of screening for the disease at ports of entry in a similar way to how sniffer dogs are routinely used to detect fruit and vegetables or drugs at airports,” he said.
“This could help prevent the spread of malaria to countries that have been declared malaria-free and also ensure that people, many of whom might be unaware that they are infected with the malaria parasite, receive antimalarial drug treatment for the disease.”
Dr. Lindsay and his colleagues’ research was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Lindsay reported no conflicts of interest.
NEW ORLEANS—Dogs can be trained to sniff out malaria in humans, according to research presented at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Meeting.
Researchers found that dogs could detect malaria by sniffing socks worn by children from a malaria-endemic area of West Africa.
“While our findings are at an early stage, in principle, we have shown that dogs could be trained to detect malaria-infected people by their odor with a credible degree of accuracy,” said study investigator Steve Lindsay, PhD, of Durham University in Durham City, U.K.
Dr. Lindsay presented these findings at the meeting as abstract 32.
The research began in The Gambia, where 600 school children were recruited to join the study. They were checked for overall general health, sampled for malaria parasites, and fitted with a pair of socks they were asked to wear overnight.
The next day, the socks were collected. The socks were sorted according to the malaria infection status of the children. The researchers only selected socks from uninfected children and children with malaria who did not have fever.
The socks were shipped to the United Kingdom, where they were stored in a freezer for several months while dogs were trained to sniff out malaria.
The dogs had to distinguish between socks from children with malaria parasites and socks from uninfected children. The animals were trained to sniff each sample, freeze if they thought they detected malaria, and move on if they did not.
In total, 175 sock samples were tested, including those from 30 malaria-positive children and those from 145 uninfected children.
The dogs correctly identified 70% of the infected children and 90% of the uninfected children.
Dr. Lindsay and his colleagues believe that, with more training and more samples, the dogs could provide a level of accuracy approaching that of a clinical test.
Now, the researchers are considering a follow-up study that would take samples from people in different parts of Africa to test whether parasites from one part of the continent present odors that are different from another part of the continent.
As for putting malaria-detecting dogs to work in the field, Dr. Lindsay said they could be helpful assistants in malaria elimination campaigns.
Currently, the only way to address the problem of asymptomatic malaria carriers is to test or treat an entire community. Dr. Lindsay said detection dogs could be useful for significantly narrowing the focus of clinical testing and treatment efforts.
Dr. Lindsay also believes detection dogs could be used at ports of entry into countries that have eliminated malaria or are close to elimination.
“This could provide a non-invasive way of screening for the disease at ports of entry in a similar way to how sniffer dogs are routinely used to detect fruit and vegetables or drugs at airports,” he said.
“This could help prevent the spread of malaria to countries that have been declared malaria-free and also ensure that people, many of whom might be unaware that they are infected with the malaria parasite, receive antimalarial drug treatment for the disease.”
Dr. Lindsay and his colleagues’ research was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Lindsay reported no conflicts of interest.