Florida airport pilots COVID-19 sniffing canines

COVID-19-sniffing canines put to test

Miami International Airport is piloting an initiative involving dogs that can sniff COVID-19.

MIAMI, Fla. - Miami International Airport in Florida announced on September 8 that it has become the first US airport to trial COVID-19 detector dogs.

The canine team, who were trained by Florida International University (FIU), will be stationed at an employee checkpoint to sniff out any signs of the virus.

The dogs have shown accuracy rates of between 96 to 99 percent in published peer-reviewed, double-blind trials, a statement from the airport said.

The initiative will run through September, after which the university will continue to develop the specificity of the canine-assisted method.

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This footage, shared with Storyful by FIU, shows the dogs hard at work at the airport.

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