Researchers from the UK and experts from the NGO Medical Detection Dogs in Gambia conducted the experiment, which consisted of training dogs for months to stop them when they smelled a contaminated sock. Their findings were presented Monday at the American Society of Tropical Medicine annual conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. The socks came from children in Gambia, some of whom tested positive for the malaria parasite but did not have a fever. Tested after their training, the dogs correctly detected 70% of the socks of children infected with the malaria parasite, which generates a distinct smell on human skin, and which the super canine sense of smell seems to be able to smell, even if it is only of traces on a sock. The goal of this technique is to have a fast, inexpensive and non-invasive detection test to detect malaria, which is transmitted by infected mosquitoes. The annual death toll is estimated at 445.000 worldwide. And the number of cases has increased in recent years, according to the World Health Organization. Researchers believe their technique can still improve in accuracy, as dogs are trained on more socks. For the experiment, the socks were frozen in the UK during training, which may have limited effectiveness. According to Steven Lindsay, an entomologist at the British University of Durham and lead author of the study, the technique could one day be used “at points of entry into countries, just as dogs are trained to detect fruit. , vegetables or drugs at airports “. "This, highlights Giovanni D'Agata, president of the"Rights Window", Could help prevent the spread of malaria in the countries that have eradicated it, and allow people who do not know they are infected with the malaria parasite to receive an antimalarial drug.