Page 49 - Bulletin, Vol.81 No.1, May 2022

Since the beginning of March 2020, the small team of the Nosaïs programme at EnvA
has held fast to its objective of testing the dog's olfactory acuity in its possible ability to
detect COVID-19.

The dog's sense of smell has 200 to 250 million olfactory cells (5 million for humans).
This extraordinary faculty enables the detection of explosives, narcotics, banknotes,
buried or lost persons, etc. It is also used for the early detection of cancers or the
warning of seizures for diabetics and epileptics. In Africa, the dog (but also the rat) is
routinely used for the diagnosis of tuberculosis (on sputum) or malaria (on socks worn
for 24 hours), infectious or parasitic diseases.

As there was no reference database on the subject, the team wondered whether
COVID-19 left a specific olfactory signature that could be detected. Indeed, there was a
strong suspicion that a virus such as SARS-CoV-2 could generate volatile organic
compounds. It was therefore necessary to demonstrate this.

It was not easy to embark on an idea that was often considered to be a little crazy...
Sweat samples (non-contaminating biological liquid) from the axilla (to avoid passive
contamination), on surgical pads (to avoid costs). Dogs working on olfactory detection
cones (always to avoid dog/sample contact)...

During all the studies, the fire brigade dogs were their partners. They came from the
SDIS of Seine-et-Marne, South Corsica and, above all, Yvelines and Oise. For a few
months now, thanks to the will of the CEVA laboratory, another work site has been set
up in Libourne in collaboration with the Bordeaux University Hospital, the SDIS of
Gironde and the Dordogne Gendarmerie Nationale.

Exergue : The dog, a true auxiliary of human health !

Right from the start, things were set up in daily collaboration with Lebanon, then the
United Arab Emirates, and today 35 countries are applying the NOSAÏS-COVID-19
programme, while some fifteen others are working on urine, saliva or exhaled air.

This action is also a good example of "One Health, One Medicine", associating
veterinarians, doctors and dog handlers in the same work for the benefit of human
health. It must be acknowledged that although this concept is applied and appreciated

AAFI-AFICS BULLETIN, Vol. 81 No.1, 2022-05 47