找出病毒攜帶者,尤其是無癥狀感染者,是疫情防控最大的障礙之一。
但如果狗狗能夠做到呢?倫敦科學(xué)家稱,狗能夠嗅出病毒在人體內(nèi)發(fā)出的輕微的氣味,這實(shí)際上將為查找COVID-19患者提供一種革命性的方式。倫敦衛(wèi)生與熱帶醫(yī)學(xué)院正在進(jìn)行項(xiàng)目眾籌,訓(xùn)練狗狗探測看似健康且自己沒有意識到的病毒攜帶者。如果項(xiàng)目成功,這些動(dòng)物偵探將在今年夏天部署到英國各地。
倫敦衛(wèi)生與熱帶醫(yī)學(xué)院疾病控制系負(fù)責(zé)人詹姆斯·洛根表示:“項(xiàng)目目前還在初期階段。我們知道疾病都會產(chǎn)生氣味,包括流感等呼吸道疾病,而且這些氣味實(shí)際上是非常明顯的。新型冠狀病毒很可能會產(chǎn)生特定的氣味,如果確實(shí)如此,我相信狗狗們能學(xué)會嗅出這種氣味,檢測出病毒。”
嗅覺發(fā)達(dá)的狗狗們已經(jīng)被用于診斷許多疾病,比如帕金森氏病和多種癌癥。倫敦衛(wèi)生與熱帶醫(yī)學(xué)院已經(jīng)在訓(xùn)練動(dòng)物用于檢測瘧疾,尤其是拉布拉多和可卡犬等。該中心表示,犬只檢測瘧疾的成功率遠(yuǎn)超過世界衛(wèi)生組織的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。
如果該項(xiàng)目取得成功,可以把狗狗安排到醫(yī)院和護(hù)理中心,對員工進(jìn)行篩查,等到人們恢復(fù)正常出行之后,還可以在機(jī)場和火車站檢測無癥狀感染者。它們每天可以篩查數(shù)千人,將成為人類日常生活快速安全地恢復(fù)正常的重要幫手。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
翻譯:劉進(jìn)龍
審校:汪皓
找出病毒攜帶者,尤其是無癥狀感染者,是疫情防控最大的障礙之一。
但如果狗狗能夠做到呢?倫敦科學(xué)家稱,狗能夠嗅出病毒在人體內(nèi)發(fā)出的輕微的氣味,這實(shí)際上將為查找COVID-19患者提供一種革命性的方式。倫敦衛(wèi)生與熱帶醫(yī)學(xué)院正在進(jìn)行項(xiàng)目眾籌,訓(xùn)練狗狗探測看似健康且自己沒有意識到的病毒攜帶者。如果項(xiàng)目成功,這些動(dòng)物偵探將在今年夏天部署到英國各地。
倫敦衛(wèi)生與熱帶醫(yī)學(xué)院疾病控制系負(fù)責(zé)人詹姆斯·洛根表示:“項(xiàng)目目前還在初期階段。我們知道疾病都會產(chǎn)生氣味,包括流感等呼吸道疾病,而且這些氣味實(shí)際上是非常明顯的。新型冠狀病毒很可能會產(chǎn)生特定的氣味,如果確實(shí)如此,我相信狗狗們能學(xué)會嗅出這種氣味,檢測出病毒。”
嗅覺發(fā)達(dá)的狗狗們已經(jīng)被用于診斷許多疾病,比如帕金森氏病和多種癌癥。倫敦衛(wèi)生與熱帶醫(yī)學(xué)院已經(jīng)在訓(xùn)練動(dòng)物用于檢測瘧疾,尤其是拉布拉多和可卡犬等。該中心表示,犬只檢測瘧疾的成功率遠(yuǎn)超過世界衛(wèi)生組織的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。
如果該項(xiàng)目取得成功,可以把狗狗安排到醫(yī)院和護(hù)理中心,對員工進(jìn)行篩查,等到人們恢復(fù)正常出行之后,還可以在機(jī)場和火車站檢測無癥狀感染者。它們每天可以篩查數(shù)千人,將成為人類日常生活快速安全地恢復(fù)正常的重要幫手。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
翻譯:劉進(jìn)龍
審校:汪皓
Finding virus carriers—especially those with no symptoms—is among the biggest hurdles to addressing the pandemic.
But what if dogs can do that? Scientists in London say that dogs could in fact revolutionize the hunt for COVID-19 by sniffing out subtle odors produced by the virus when within the human body. The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is crowdfunding a project to train canines to detect healthy-seeming people who haven’t necessarily realized yet they are carriers. If the project is successful, the animal detectives could be working across Britain by the summer.
“It’s very early stages,” says James Logan, head of LSHTM’s Department of Disease Control. “We know diseases have odor —including respiratory diseases such as influenza—and that those odors are in fact quite distinct. There is a very, very good chance that COVID-19 has a specific odor, and if it does I am really confident that the dogs would be able to learn that smell and detect it.”
Dogs with a highly developed sense of smell are already used to diagnose many medical conditions, including Parkinson’s disease and several types of cancer. The LSHTM itself has already trained up animals—labradors and cocker spaniels tend to be especially suited—to detect malaria. Their success rate far exceeds required WHO standards, the center says.
If the project works, the dogs could be deployed to screen staff at hospitals and care homes and, once regular travel resumes, sniff out unwitting carriers at airports and rail stations. Capable of screening thousands of people per day, the dogs could be a key tool for getting daily life back to normal quickly and safely.