Florine Munier
Research Subjects
Research Interests
Florine Munier has a total of 5 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:
- Florence Gaunet
Centre de Recherche en Psychologie et Neurosciences (UMR 7077), Aix-Marseille University and CNRS, 3, Place Victor Hugo, 13003 Marseille, France
2 shared publications - Frédérique Retornaz
Unité de Soins et de Recherche en Médecine Interne et Maladies Infectieuses, Hôpital Européen, 6 Rue Désirée Clary, 13003 Marseille, France
2 shared publications - Jennifer Cattet
Center for the Study of Medical Alert Canines (CMAC), and Medical Mutts Service Dogs, 6120 Allisonville Rd, Indianapolis, IN 46220, USA
2 shared publications Catherine Colignon
ANIMALIN, 173 rue des jardins, 32450 Aurimont, France, France
1 shared publicationCatherine Collignon
Animalin Boutique, 173 rue des Jardins, 32450 Aurimont, France
1 shared publication
Latest Publications
- Open Access
Dogs’ Detection of Symptomatic and Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 by Non-Working Dogs: Feasibility and Limits Under Controlled Laboratory Conditions
Dogs can detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with infectious diseases, but their ability to distinguish between symptomatic and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections has not been fully established. In this exploratory proof-of-concept study with a limited number of dogs, eight non-working dogs (without experience in scent detection) began training with either symptomatic or asymptomatic Delta samples; seven reached the testing phase and were then evaluated on the alternate group to assess cross-generalization. Training initially used a yes/no protocol but was adapted to a line-up design after poor performance. When presented with novel Delta samples from the other category, dogs significantly discriminated them from controls, achieving a mean sensitivity of 71% and a specificity of 51%, with no difference between training groups. In contrast, performance dropped when dogs were tested with a small number of asymptomatic Omicron-positive samples from vaccinated individuals, with a mean sensitivity of 35% and a specificity of 55%. Dogs can thus generalize across symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 cases for the Delta variant; performance decreased for Omicron samples, likely due to altered VOC profiles in vaccinated individuals. While proof-of-concept feasibility was demonstrated with a line-up protocol for detecting asymptomatic scent, detection dogs should not currently be recommended for large-scale screening; the findings underscore the need for standardized protocols and variant-specific retraining.
Open AccessDogs’ Detection of Symptomatic and Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 by Non-Working Dogs: Feasibility and Limits Under Controlled Laboratory Conditions
Dogs can detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with infectious diseases, but their ability to distinguish between symptomatic and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections has not been fully established. In this exploratory proof-of-concept study with a limited number of dogs, eight non-working dogs (without experience in scent detection) began training with either symptomatic or asymptomatic Delta samples; seven reached the testing phase and were then evaluated on the alternate group to assess cross-generalization. Training initially used a yes/no protocol but was adapted to a line-up design after poor performance. When presented with novel Delta samples from the other category, dogs significantly discriminated them from controls, achieving a mean sensitivity of 71% and a specificity of 51%, with no difference between training groups. In contrast, performance dropped when dogs were tested with a small number of asymptomatic Omicron-positive samples from vaccinated individuals, with a mean sensitivity of 35% and a specificity of 55%. Dogs can thus generalize across symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 cases for the Delta variant; performance decreased for Omicron samples, likely due to altered VOC profiles in vaccinated individuals. While proof-of-concept feasibility was demonstrated with a line-up protocol for detecting asymptomatic scent, detection dogs should not currently be recommended for large-scale screening; the findings underscore the need for standardized protocols and variant-specific retraining.
- Open Access
- 31 October 2025
- Published by MDPI AG in Preprints.org
Detection of Symptomatic and Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 by Naïve Dogs: Feasible in Controlled Tasks but Envisioned as Limited for Public Screening
Dogs can detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with infectious diseases, but their ability to distinguish between symptomatic and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections has not been fully established. In this study, eight naïve dogs began training with either symptomatic or asymptomatic Delta samples; seven reached the testing phase and were then evaluated on the alternate group to assess cross-generalization. Training initially used a yes/no protocol but was adapted to a line-up design after poor performance. When presented with novel Delta samples, dogs significantly discriminated them from controls, achieving a mean sensitivity of 71% and specificity of 51%, with no difference between training groups. In contrast, performance dropped when dogs were tested with asymptomatic Omicron samples from vaccinated individuals, with a mean sensitivity of 55%. These results show that dogs can generalize across symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 cases for the Delta variant but fail to detect Omicron reliably, likely due to altered VOC profiles in vaccinated individuals. While proof-of-concept feasibility was demonstrated with a line up protocol for detecting asymptomatic scent, detection dogs should not currently be recommended for large-scale screening, but findings underscore the need for standardized protocols and variant-specific retraining.
- 31 October 2025
- Published by MDPI AG in Preprints.org
Open AccessDetection of Symptomatic and Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 by Naïve Dogs: Feasible in Controlled Tasks but Envisioned as Limited for Public Screening
Dogs can detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with infectious diseases, but their ability to distinguish between symptomatic and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections has not been fully established. In this study, eight naïve dogs began training with either symptomatic or asymptomatic Delta samples; seven reached the testing phase and were then evaluated on the alternate group to assess cross-generalization. Training initially used a yes/no protocol but was adapted to a line-up design after poor performance. When presented with novel Delta samples, dogs significantly discriminated them from controls, achieving a mean sensitivity of 71% and specificity of 51%, with no difference between training groups. In contrast, performance dropped when dogs were tested with asymptomatic Omicron samples from vaccinated individuals, with a mean sensitivity of 55%. These results show that dogs can generalize across symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 cases for the Delta variant but fail to detect Omicron reliably, likely due to altered VOC profiles in vaccinated individuals. While proof-of-concept feasibility was demonstrated with a line up protocol for detecting asymptomatic scent, detection dogs should not currently be recommended for large-scale screening, but findings underscore the need for standardized protocols and variant-specific retraining.