German army to use dogs to sniff out COVID-19

German army on Monday said its dogs were receiving training to sniff out COVID-19 infections, as the country’s official caseload rose to 196,554.

The military said it is working together with the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hanover with the hopes of training 10 dogs, Alsations, spaniels and retrievers to smell the virus.

The animals belong to the Bundeswehr’s only dog training site, based in the rural Western region of Vulkaneifel.

According to the dog training school, with a current success rate of around 80 per cent, the researchers are well on the way to successfully continuing the project.

It added that the first reliable results of the study should be available in the coming weeks.

Dogs are used to search for explosives or drugs but have also proved themselves to be useful allies in combatting the disease.

They can be trained to detect various cancers and low blood sugar levels in people who are diabetic.

However, despite some isolated outbreaks; Germany had largely brought its coronavirus epidemic under control.