COVID-19 Detector Dogs Tested At Miami International Airport

MIAMI, FL — As part of its effort to help stop the spread of COVID-19, Miami International Airport is now getting help from detector dogs specially trained to sniff out the virus at an employee security checkpoint.

The airport is the first in the United States to test COVID-19-sniffing canines, Miami-Dade County said in a news release.

The 30-day pilot program is a partnership between the Global Forensic and Justice Center at Florida International University and the Miami-Dade Aviation Department. The program was approved by the Board of County Commissioners in March.

“This pandemic has pushed us to innovate to stop the spread. I applaud Commissioner [Kionne] McGhee and the County Commission for thinking outside the box with this initiative,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. “We're proud to do everything we can to protect our residents. I look forward to seeing how the airport tests their skills and expanding the pilot program to other county facilities.”

Detector dogs have the potential for immediate detection and response to the virus in public spaces such as airports, according to the county’s news release.

The dogs, which trained at FIU’s Modesto Maidique campus in Miami, achieved accuracy rates between 96 and 99 percent for detecting COVID-19 in published peer-reviewed, double-blind trials. After the pilot program ends in September, FIU will continue to work on the accuracy and specificity of the canine following scientifically validated methods, which will assist in coronavirus variant detection.

The two dogs in the pilot program at MIA — Cobra, a Belgian Malinois, and One Betta, a Dutch shepherd — have been trained to alert to the scent of COVID-19.

The virus causes metabolic changes in a person that result in the production of volatile organic compounds, the county said. The VOCs are excreted by a person’s breath and sweat, producing a scent that trained dogs can detect. The metabolic changes are common for all people, regardless of their individual scents. If a dog indicates that someone is carrying the odor of the virus, the person is directed to get a rapid COVID-19 test.

“Being able to apply decades of research in this way, to provide an additional layer of protection to airport employees at Miami International Airport, it’s humbling,” said Dr. Kenneth G. Furton, FIU provost and professor of chemistry and biochemistry. “These dogs are another valuable tool we can leverage to help us live with this ongoing pandemic.”

Numerous studies have demonstrated that detector dogs are one of the most reliable tools available to identify substances based on the odors they emit, the county said. Previous studies include demonstrating that detector dogs can reliably detect persons that have diseases, such as diabetes, epilepsy and certain cancers. Detector dogs have long been used by federal and local agencies at MIA to detect prohibited currency, drugs, explosives and agriculture.