Dogs can detect malaria by sniffing people's socks

Study says the animals appear able to identify people infected with the disease even if they are not showing symptoms
Nicola Davis
@NicolaKSDavis
Mon 29 Oct 2018 09.45 EDT Last modified on Mon 29 Oct 2018 15.30 EDT

Dogs’ noses could become a powerful weapon in the battle against malaria, according to research suggesting the animals can tell from a sniff of a sock whether someone has the disease.

Dogs have previously proved highly accurate at detecting a range of human diseases, including prostate cancer and thyroid cancer, as well as at alerting people with diabetes that they have low blood sugar.

Now experts say dogs also appear able to identify individuals infected with malaria, even if they are not showing symptoms.

“Many countries are getting near elimination or have achieved elimination [of malaria] – for example, recently Sri Lanka became malaria-free, which is an extraordinary achievement,” said Steven Lindsay, a public health entomologist at Durham University who led the research. “The question then is how do you keep the place malaria-free, because the mosquitoes aren’t going away.”

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/29/dogs-noses-powerful-weapon-malaria-symptoms

Science:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/122860378