covid-19 "Must Have" survival kit - a Dog and a Llama!

Courtesy of Wikimedia commons

It is possible that some day the COVID-19 "must have" survival kit will include one dog and one llama!

The dog will diagnose the disease, i.e. inform you if you have the virus, and the llama will provide the antibodies that can stop the virus.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School are working to train dogs to recognize the scent of the infection and to alert you, just as dogs can do with seizures, cancer, and a multitude of assorted odors.

Scientists are also working with a llama named Winter, in Belgium, to see if her special llama antibodies (recovered via blood draw) can immediately and temporarily block the corona virus cell from infecting people. Past uses of llama antibodies showed effectiveness in stopping both SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV viruses for a short period of time.

Problem solved!