The charity Medical Detection Dogs has already trained dogs to spot the scent of malaria, cancer and Parkinson’s.
It plans trials on the current pandemic virus with Durham University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
Charity boss Dr Claire Guest said it had to find out how to "safely catch the odour of the virus from patients".
"In principle, we’re sure that dogs could detect Covid-19," she said.
‘Fast and effective’
If this is proven, the dogs could be used to screen anyone, including those with no symptoms.
"This would be fast, effective and non-invasive and make sure the limited NHS testing resources are only used where they are really needed," Dr Guest said.
LSHTM head of disease control Prof James Logan said research showed dogs could detect the odour of malaria infection with a level of accuracy "above the World Health Organisation standards for a diagnostic".
bbc.com
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