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Man's best friend, bacteria's worst enemy: dog sniffs out superbug in Canada hospital
Source: The Guardian
Man's best friend, bacteria's worst enemy: dog sniffs out superbug in Canada hospital
Angus the English springer spaniel is believed to be only
canine hospital employee in the world trained to sniff out
notorious bacteria Clostridium difficile
Ashifa Kassam in Vancouver
Thursday 12 January 2017 09.00 GMT
Hospital ID badge dangling from his neck, Angus considered the empty bed in front of him. After a few strong sniffs, he moved on.
Nearing the next bed, his floppy ears perked up before he stopped dead in his tracks, tapping his paw and eyeing his handler expectantly.
The two-year-old English springer spaniel is believed to be the only canine hospital employee in the world trained to sniff out the notorious superbug Clostridium difficile, or C difficile.
The seeds of Angus’ unlikely career were planted three years ago, after Teresa Zurberg, a Vancouver resident, suffered a C difficile infection. Her bout with the bacteria – which attacks people whose immune systems have been weakened by antibiotics – left her in the hospital for five days and she lost 20 pounds.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Hospitals normally use ultraviolet light to find the bacteria, but Angus can move much more quickly and efficiently through rooms. Once he detects the bacteria, the area is cleaned with a robot that uses ultraviolet light to disinfect 99.9% of the C difficile spores.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Angus the English springer spaniel is believed to be only
canine hospital employee in the world trained to sniff out
notorious bacteria Clostridium difficile
Ashifa Kassam in Vancouver
Thursday 12 January 2017 09.00 GMT
Hospital ID badge dangling from his neck, Angus considered the empty bed in front of him. After a few strong sniffs, he moved on.
Nearing the next bed, his floppy ears perked up before he stopped dead in his tracks, tapping his paw and eyeing his handler expectantly.
The two-year-old English springer spaniel is believed to be the only canine hospital employee in the world trained to sniff out the notorious superbug Clostridium difficile, or C difficile.
The seeds of Angus’ unlikely career were planted three years ago, after Teresa Zurberg, a Vancouver resident, suffered a C difficile infection. Her bout with the bacteria – which attacks people whose immune systems have been weakened by antibiotics – left her in the hospital for five days and she lost 20 pounds.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Hospitals normally use ultraviolet light to find the bacteria, but Angus can move much more quickly and efficiently through rooms. Once he detects the bacteria, the area is cleaned with a robot that uses ultraviolet light to disinfect 99.9% of the C difficile spores.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/12/clostridium-difficile-infection-canada-dog-detective
5 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Pay Angus for his work - I'm sure he likes treats or a really good dog food 
A woman I knew years ago would drop off her dog every morning at the golf course and would pick him up at the end of the day. His job was to scare the geese away. He was "paid" in dog food.
