Dog-sized rats sniff out TB in patients - Aug 2010
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Yes, it's nearly as big as a chihuahua but don't be afraid. Rodents of unusual size, such as this one, could save your hide. A pilot program in Tanzania has trained them to detect land mines and also sniff out tuberculosis.
Could a giant, spit-sniffing rat save your life? Maybe ? they can be better than humans at diagnosing tuberculosis. A pilot program in Tanzania is using trained rats to smell TB in sputum samples. Up to 1,000 samples a week are collected from local hospitals by APOPO, a nonprofit that also trains rats to sniff out landmines. Although the TB samples have already been checked by a human under the microscope, the rat pack?s sniff tests have improved disease detection by 44 percent because the clever rodents often find TB that was missed.
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Now there's a proper rat.
