In the world's first-ever study, the Federal Customs Authority (FCA) and the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) have successfully deployed trained dogs to detect the presence of COVID-19.

As part of the academic and professional agreement, the two entities carried out the first, state-of-the-art study using customs K9 sniffer dogs to detect the presence of Coronavirus. To conduct the study, the two organisations formed a joint task force which consisted of researchers, experts, and specialists representing HCT and FCA's K9 Unit.

The joint scientific team conducted a three-phase study which demonstrated a high-rate of accuracy among Customs’ K9 Unit's dogs in detecting Coronavirus-infected patients. It took two seconds for the dogs to detect infected patients among a sample of 1,000 participants at COVID-19 screening centers. Reportedly, the final results indicated that there is a 98 percent correlation between PCR test results and detection by the Customs’ K9 dogs.

Speaking over the development, Ali Saeed Mattar Al Nayadi, Commissioner of Customs and Chairman of the FCA, affirmed that the success of the scientific joint study mirrors the keenness of the authority to protect the society and enhance its security and stability amid the pandemic crisis.

At the same time, the study highlighted the goal of the Authority to implement the directives of the UAE leadership to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in line with the UAE Vision 2021 and UAE Centennial 2071, noting their objective to establish a safe and healthy society across economic, social and medical fronts.

Al Nayadi noted that this scientific achievement supports the UAE's leading role in tackling the COVID-19 crisis as well as its capabilities to mobilise its executive, scientific, and human resources to protect the health and welfare of society and ensure a safer future for the community over the next 50 years.

The FCA Chairman also noted that this scientific achievement has paved the way for the future use of K9 sniffer dogs in tackling the impact of natural and health crises by helping in detecting viruses, narcotics and other dangerous items.

Al Nayadi also stressed that K9 sniffer dogs' capabilities to detect Coronavirus infections will essentially contribute to saving time and effort by 98 percent and minimizing the pressure for frontline heroes, such as healthcare professionals and hospital staff. It will also help in saving millions of dirhams to ensure budget cost-effectiveness that can be utilised in other vital sectors, including security, education, infrastructure, and healthcare.

Al Nayadi also hailed the HCT as a unique model of alliance between educational institutions and various executive and regulatory bodies in the UAE, reflecting the culture of innovation embedded in the country's educational sector. He further praised the successful performance of the K9 Unit of the FCA, working in cooperation with the HCT team. FCA's K9 Unit has been led by Abdul Salam Al Shamsi and supervised by Ahmed Abdulla Bin Lahej, Managing Director of Customs Affairs Sector with the aim of achieving this scientific achievement, despite the challenges imposed by pandemic circumstances during the study and training.

HCT President and CEO Dr. Abdullatif Al Shamsi went onto congratulate the team of scientific experts, researchers, and specialists headed by Prof. Mohammed Hag Ali for conducting the study. He also lauded the joint collaboration between the HCT, the Federal Customs Authority, and the Customs K9 Unit to successfully conduct the study.

He revealed that the study was conducted in three phases, confirming the high accuracy of customs K9 sniffer dogs in diagnosing and detecting COVID-19 patients within two seconds.

Dr. Al Shamsi further noted that the collaboration between the three organisations has underlined the significance of the applied scientific study, which was carried on in line with international standards and criteria. Dr. Al Shamsi added that it will support the UAE’s endeavors to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and help in protecting the community by ensuring all preventive measures aimed at mitigating the impact of the virus. It will also contribute to the global efforts of combatting the pandemic by providing scientific studies and effective solutions.

Dr. Al Shamsi affirmed that in the first phase of the research, sniffer dogs were trained by the Federal Customs Authority’s K9 Unit for high-speed sampling from the armpits of presumed infected cases. There were over 500 samples during the training based on international standards. In the second phase called the K9 test, dogs sniffed the samples without coming in contact with the people. It was followed by a PCR test on the same participants. In the third phase, authorities compared the PCR results conducted in medical labs with those sniffed by dogs within two seconds.

Dr Al Shamsi added that the authorities further conducted a statistical analysis of the study findings that proved a high accuracy among Customs K9 sniffer dogs to detect and diagnosis COVID-19 patients within two seconds.

He affirmed that more than 98 percent of the samples that did not contain the virus were disqualified, indicating that PCR tests were performed for only 2 percent of the screening center visitors.

"This key scientific achievement will save efforts and funds and reduce the pressure of the medical cadre and screening center visitors," he noted.

Dr. Al Shamsi stated that this successful collaboration with the Federal Customs Authority (FCA) indicated the applied research competencies of the HCT which has received top priority over the past few years. Now, the study will be sent for publication in a renowned international peer-reviewed scientific periodical.

WAM