Meet the Super Six - the dogs being trained to see if they can sniff out Coronavirus

These are Super Six, the dogs being trained to see if they can detect Covid-19 infection in humans before they show any symptoms.

A spokesman Medical Detection Dogs which is running the programme said: “Thanks to the UK government, who have announced they will support our Covid-19 work, the super six will now start their basic training.

“This will be in preparation for the arrival of the Covid-19 samples.

“And with that, we hope, they will quickly be able to learn what that smells like and then their noses will really be on their way to saving many lives.”

Minister for Innovation Lord Bethell said: “Bio-detection dogs already detect specific cancers and we believe this innovation might provide speedy results as part of our wider testing strategy.

***CV-19 SUPER SIX*** These are the six noses that could soon be trained to detect if someone has COVID-19 and play a vital role in preventing further spread of the pandemic in future. Norman, Digby, Storm, Star, Jasper and Asher are ready to be assessed to work on a project to train dogs to detect the virus and we couldnÕt be more proud of them. WeÕll be giving you a little factfile about each of them over the weekendÉ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/md-dogs-against-covid19#/ London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Durham University Bex Arts Nigel Harper Photography (Nigel Harper Photography)

“Accuracy is essential so this trial will tell us whether ‘Covid dogs’ can reliably detect the virus and stop it spreading.”

Dr Claire Guest, co-founder and chief executive of Medical Detection Dogs, said: “We are delighted that the Government has given us the opportunity to demonstrate that dogs can play a role in the fight against Covid-19.

“They have the potential to help by quickly screening people, which could be vital in the future.

“We are sure our dogs will be able to find the odour of Covid-19 and we will then move into a second phase to test them in live situations, following which we hope to work with other agencies to train more dogs for deployment.

“We are incredibly proud that a dog’s nose could once again save many lives.”

The complex training programme is being run by the dogs trainers and the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Durham University.

The Super Six with the CVs

• Norman, 2, a Working Cocker Spaniel from the Wood Green charity.

• Digby, 20 months , a Labradoodle from a dog charity.

• Storm, 3, a Labrador Golden Retriever mix from a dog charity.

• Star, 2, a Labrador.

• Jasper,  a Working Cocker Spaniel from the Wood Green

• Asher, 5, a Worker Cocker Spaniel who now lives with Claire Guest CEO of Medical Detection Dogs.