Finland first European country to deploy coronavirus-sniffing dogs at main airport

Primary tabs

Finland first European country to deploy coronavirus-sniffing dogs at main airport

Wed, 2020-09-23 16:52 — mike kraft

Finland deploys coronavirus-sniffing dogs at main airport Finland has deployed coronavirus-sniffing dogs at the Nordic country’s main international airport in a four-month trial of an alternative testing method that could become a cost-friendly way to identify infected travelers Jari Tanner | AP Washington Post

HELSINKI — Finland has deployed coronavirus-sniffing dogs at the Nordic country’s main international airport in a four-month trial of an alternative testing method that could become a cost-friendly and quick way to identify infected travelers.

Four dogs of different breeds trained by Finland’s Smell Detection Association started working Wednesday at the Helsinki Airport as part of the government-financed trial.

“It’s a very promising method. Dogs are very good at sniffing,” Anna Hielm-Bjorkman, a University of Helsinki professor of equine and small animal medicine, said.

“If it works, it will be a good (coronavirus) screening method at any other places,” she said, listing hospitals, ports, elderly people’s homes, sports venues and cultural events among the possible locations where trained dogs could put their snouts to work.

While researchers in several countries, including Australia, France, Germany the United States, are also studying canines as coronavirus detectors, the Finnish trial is among the largest so far.

Hielm-Bjorkman told The Associated Press that Finland is the second country after the United Arab Emirates - and the first in Europe - to assign dogs to sniff out the coronavirus. A similar program started at Dubai International Airport over the summer. ...

Also see:

A new made-in-Israel gargle test for coronavirus is being deployed in European airports, after a leading aviation security company threw its weight behind the tech. ...

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags: