Around the world, other animals--mostly dogs--are being used experimentally to screen human samples for disease; the TB-sniffing rats of Tanzania are the only animal disease-detectives in routine use. When medics first hear about the programme, they are often sceptical about the idea of using rats rather than machines, says Christophe Cox, CEO of Apopo, the Belgian-based organisation behind the project. But then they are shown the case detection data. The rats are saving lives every day, and, argue some advocates, the time has now come for dogs to do the same.
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