Researchers led by Dr. Marije Bomers in the Netherlands have trained a beagle named Cliff to sniff out cases of C. diff with remarkable accuracy. The dog was able to identify C. diff with a sensitivity and specificity over 90% in adults having the infection but fared less well in a pediatric ward. The children he was testing became very gleeful about being visited by a furry friend and caused Cliff to return the excitement and happiness, thus distracting him from his test.
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