Canine olfactive detection has proven its efficacy in numerous situations (explosives, drugs, bank notes…) including for early diagnosis of human diseases: various cancers, alert of diabetic or epileptic people in immediate alarm of crisis.

Fighting such a viral outbreak requires a widespread testing, one of the key measures for tackling the pandemic. In June 2020, facing a decline of COVID-19, it is possible to say that countries that have mastered their outbreak, and were able to maintain the number of infected people low, need to perform fewer test to correctly monitor the outbreak, than those countries where the virus has spread more widely. And for the same reasons, the timing of testing is also crucial. A high rate of testing will be way more effective to slow an outbreak if conducted earlier on, at a time when there is fewer infectious

The aim of this study is to evaluate if the sweat produced by COVID-19 persons (SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive) has a different odour for trained detection dogs than the sweat produced by non COVID-19 persons. The study was conducted on 3 sites, following the same protocol procedures, and involved a total of 18 dogs. A total of 198 armpits sweat samples were obtained from different hospitals. For each involved dog, the acquisition of the specific odour of COVID-19 sweat samples required from one to four hours, with an amount of positive samples sniffing ranging from four to ten.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Due to have a coronavirus swab test in the previous 24 hours
• Aged ≥ 18 years
• Suspected mild COVID-19 symptoms or have been exposed to COVID-19
• Written informed consent provided

Exclusion Criteria:

• Aged < 18 years
• Written informed consent not provided
• Unable or unwilling to put a compresses for at least 4 h