Giant African Pouched Rats as Detectors of Tuberculosis in Human Sputum: Comparison of Two Techniques for Sputum Presentation

Previous studies have shown that pouched rats can detect the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes tuberculosis, in human sputum samples obtained from clinical facilities. Although pouched rats evaluate sputum samples quickly, preparing the samples is relatively slow. The present study evaluated whether the rats can detect tuberculosis in microscope slides, which are routinely prepared at these facilities. Results indicate that they can do so, but their accuracy is considerably lower than that of rats exposed to pots containing sputum, as in prior studies.

     

Tuberculosis detection by giant african pouched rats

In recent years, operant discrimination training procedures have been used to teach giant African pouched rats to detect tuberculosis (TB) in human sputum samples. This article summarizes how the rats are trained and used operationally, as well as their performance in studies published to date. Available data suggest that pouched rats, which can evaluate many samples quickly, are sufficiently accurate in detecting TB to merit further investigation as a diagnostic tool.     

Using trained pouched rats to detect land mines: another victory for operant conditioning

We used giant African pouched rats (Cricetomys gambianus) as land mine-detection animals in Mozambique because they have an excellent sense of smell, weigh too little to activate mines, and are native to sub-Saharan Africa, and therefore are resistant to local parasites and diseases. In 2009 the rats searched 93,400 m(2) of land, finding 41 mines and 54 other explosive devices. Humans with metal detectors found no additional mines. On average, the rats emitted 0.33 false alarm for every 100 m(2) searched, which is below the threshold given by International Mine Action Standards for accrediting mine-detection animals. These findings indicate that Cricetomys are accurate mine-detection animals and merit continued use in this capacity.