Can a breath test be able to detect COVID-19?

Scientists in the Netherlands have been developing a COVID-19 breath test that would indicate if someone is infected.

The testing device called SpiroNose functions like a breathalyzer, providing an alternative to swab tests.

"This company took a lot of people with COVID and compared their breath to people without COVID and they found very specific and similar spikes in that breath on the breathalyzer of those that had COVID," said Dr. Anthony Cardillo, CEO of Mend Urgent Care. "And they did a computer algorithm that showed real efficacies."

Cardillo said the test is good for "ruling out" the disease, but it doesn't definitely diagnose the infection, and it's still required to be followed up by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.

"It's a great device that's showing promise for other mechanisms to get people tested more rapidly," Cardillo said.

Watch the video above for the full interview.