Dogs can detect malaria by sniffing people's socks

Study says the animals appear able to identify people infected with the disease even if they are not showing symptoms

Dogs' noses could become a powerful weapon in the battle against malaria, according to research suggesting the animals can tell from a sniff of a sock whether someone has the disease.

Dogs have previously proved highly accurate at detecting a range of human diseases, including prostate cancer and thyroid cancer, as well as at alerting people with diabetes that they have low blood sugar.