The study carried out by Anna Hielm-Björkman, Docent in clinical research on companion animals, and her research team, is exploring how dogs can detect COVID-19 in human beings. According to preliminary studies, dogs can detect COVID-19 quickly and provide even more reliable results than laboratory tests.
Based on the preliminary results, four COVID-19 sniffer dogs will be working at Helsinki Airport until the end of this year. They will be used to test passengers who are arriving in Finland for COVID-19 using skin swab samples. In addition, there are ongoing studies that aim to learn more about what it is exactly that dogs detect in samples.
The Finnish Kennel Club supports COVID-19 sniffer dog research so that enough evidence on the superiority of dogs’ sense of smell can be collected to make COVID-19 sniffer dog activities official.
You can donate to COVID-19 sniffer dog research by bank transfer (Nordea: IBAN = FI15 1660 3001 0767 70, BIC = NDEAFIHH) by entering the following in the message field of the bank transfer: “The Finnish Kennel Club’s COVID-19 sniffer dog fundraiser” and your contact information. The following information should be added to the bank transfer instructions: “Recipient: University of Helsinki Funds”.
Thank you for your support!
The University of Helsinki has a money collection licence (RA/2020/737) granted by the National Police Board on 18 June 2020. The money collection licence is valid throughout Finland, with the exception of the Åland Islands. The funds raised will be used to perform the duties referred to in section 2 of the Universities Act (558/2009). The University of Helsinki will carry out the fundraiser.