Three Hawaii Island public charter schools have a new tool for detecting COVID-19 on campus — an 8-year-old Belgian Malinois named Cobra.
The COVID-detecting dog is certified to sniff out the novel coronavirus on masks and surfaces with 98% accuracy.
Part of an eight-week pilot program at Volcano School of Arts & Sciences, Innovations Public Charter School and Ka ‘Umeke Ka‘eo Public Charter School, students are taking part in weekly, parent-approved testing. Surgical masks are worn for 30 minutes, then placed outside along a rack, where Cobra sniffs each one for signs of COVID-19.
“So far, it’s been going great,” said Kalima Kinney, VSAS principal. “The students are really enjoying it.”
Cobra has detected two positive COVID-19 cases among students at VSAS.
“Those were students who were already known to have COVID and then passed their quarantine period,” Kinney said. “The dog is more sensitive than the PCR or antigen tests and can pick it up earlier and after those tests.”
Instead of smelling the COVID-19 virus, Cobra is trained to pick up the scent of metabolic change occurring within the body to fight off the illness. This means Cobra can detect different variants, as well as asymptomatic cases.
“She is the most accurate certified dog that we have right now,” said Brett Mills from Innovation Detection Concepts, a Florida company that trains dogs in scent detection.
Training takes between six months to a year to complete before a double-blind certification process occurs.
“We want 95 to 98% accuracy in the dogs before we try to take them to certification,” he said.
Cobra detected Rapid ‘Ohi‘a Death in Hawaii prior to her COVID training. That’s how Principal Kinney originally got the idea.
“I knew about the canine scent detection work on Ceratocystis, which is the fungus that causes Rapid ‘Ohi‘a Death,” she said. “Then I found out that the same company, Innovation Detection Concepts, was training dogs to detect COVID.”
Canines’ advanced sense of smell made them the ideal candidate for sniffing out COVID.
“We’ve had our dogs hit on people that didn’t even know they were sick yet,” said Mills, who trained Cobra. “They’re not contagious at that point, especially if they’re already getting over it, but the dog’s nose is so sensitive they are still picking up on that metabolic change.”
In addition to the testing, students are participating in workshops on campus to learn more about canine scent detection and the jobs and benefits it provides.
“Most students didn’t even know it was possible for dogs to do this, much less have a job where they could work with dogs in scent detection,” said Kinney. “We’re offering these mini lessons on a variety of topics, not just canine scent detection and the science behind it, but also general training and behavioral science, as well as the social-emotional aspect of having a dog on campus.”
A majority of funding for the program came from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund’s Innovation Award, an $8.1 million grant that supports more than 30 education programs via the Hawaii PK-12 Research and Development Consortium. Additional assistance was provided by the Akaka Foundation for Tropical Forests.
“We’ll definitely continue on with the curriculum,” said Kinney, who noted curricula are being developed by both Mountain View Elementary and VSAS related to canine scent detection. “We’re really looking for other partners and agencies to take a lead role and help fill in some of the pieces, such as providing the infrastructure and training here on island.”
As the pilot program ends on Friday, students have enjoyed having Cobra on campus.
“I feel calm, happy and safe,” said fourth-grader Samson Hauʻoli-Nalu, who participated in the program.
Students also were allowed to assist as animal handlers.
“It’s fun seeing how she (Cobra) works, and how the kids like watching her work,” said fifth-grade animal handler assistant Wairimu Kimiti. “There’s another resource to help us learn about COVID-19 and another thing that we can use. It’s really fun.”
After the pilot concludes this week, a final report with results and statistics from the program will be released by IDC before Cobra moves to another school to continue detecting COVID-19.
“I think canine scent detection for human, plant and animal disease is something that can really benefit Hawaii,” Kinney said. “Not just for protecting ourselves and our ‘aina and resources, but also for providing jobs to local folks who love their dogs.”
On Saturday at 10 a.m., VSAS will host an online outreach event for parents, students and community members wanting to learn more about the pilot program and canine scent detection. The event will take place on the VSAS Facebook page at: https://tinyurl.com/yc6p3h72.
Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
