Training canines in Kyrgyzstan to help detect potential COVID-19 cases
A team of service dogs in Kyrgyzstan have now finished an eight-week training course to detect sources of heat above 37 C, which has also opened the door for these dogs to potentially help detect human body temperature increases associated with COVID-19.
The course was held from May to July 2021 in Bishkek and was organized by the State Customs Service under the Ministry of Economy and Finance (SCS) with expert and technical support from the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek.
As part of the training course, the service dogs’ detection abilities were tested at the Bishkek International Airport. The tests consisted of training aids being heated to above the average temperature for a human body and being hidden under the clothes of a selection of volunteer airline passengers from four different flights. The dogs were then tested blindly and the results showed an 80% accuracy rate over 10 blind tests and after 140 hours of training. A blind test means the dogs were not aware of the hidden training aids or their location.
The tests confirm that the canines could be used to help quickly identify and confirm that a passenger’s body temperature exceeds a medically healthy range and may require a more thorough examination. The dogs’ detection of an increased temperature does not necessarily mean a person has an active infection.
While the training and tests are still at an experimental stage, the collected and analyzed data shows the potential for trained canines to be successfully used at airports and in other public spaces during and after the COVID-19 pandemic period.
The SCS canine service, with the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek, is ready to provide training courses for service dogs in all interested state agencies within the framework of the Training of Service Dogs to Search for Objects (Subjects) of Heat Sources programme.