From laboratory to laboratory rats

Rats are often associated with the spread of the disease rather than prevent it, but it is a long tail of rodents is very sensitive detector that can save lives.

Inside the nose rodent are 1,000 different types of olfactory receptors, while humans have only a weak 100 to 200 species. This gives rodents, such as rats, the ability to sniff out subtle flavors.

As a result, African pouched rats - usually described as "kitten-sized rodents" - are put to work in Mozambique for the detection of tuberculosis.

Lab technician looks at a large rat sniffs the hole in the bottom of the glass cageImage copyrightADRIEN Barbier
Image captionThe African pouched rats are high-precision detectors TB
Their ability to study at the University of Mondlane in Maputo, where trained rats can detect a specific scent produced by TB bacteria in samples of human mucus.

When rats detect odor, they stop and rub their legs to indicate the sample is infected.

Conventionally, technicians prepare slides and study each sample using microscopy. One hundred samples to their more than two days, but for rats it takes less than 20 minutes.

This method of detection rats is affordable and does not rely on special equipment that is often lacking in countries where TB is common.

Also, more precise - the rat can find more TB infection and therefore save more lives.