Thailand calls in canine squad to sniff out covid

Bobby, one of the specially trained labradors, sniffs some samples hunting for traces of the coronavirus (Sakchai Lalit/AP)

Thailand has started using a canine, virus-detecting squad in the hope of quickly identifying people with Covid-19 as the country faces a surge in cases.

Angel, Bobby and Bravo are among six Labrador retrievers that have been trained by researchers at the veterinary faculty of Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University to sniff out a unique odour that people with Covid-19 produce in their sweat, the researchers say.