Loss of smell is best sign to detect Covid, says new study

LOSS of smell is the best sign to detect Covid, according to an international study.

RESEARCHERS have confirmed that in the majority of cases where patients with respiratory infections also lose their sense of smell, it is due to COVID-19.

The virus also often causes loss of taste and other senses in the mouth, according to the study published in the journal ‘Chemical Senses’ which reveals that the mean loss of the sense of smell was 79.7 on a scale of 0 to 100, “indicating a large to complete sensory loss”.

In addition to the loss of the sense of smell, the sense of taste was also significantly reduced, up to 69 on a scale of 0 to 100, as did the remaining sense of sensitivity in the mouth (37.3 on a scale from 0 to 100).

“Although the loss of smell in itself eliminates the ability to perceive the aroma of food, the simultaneous loss of the other senses makes it difficult to register what you eat.

“Therefore, putting food in your mouth can become an experience decidedly unpleasant,” said one of the study’s authors, Alexander Wieck Fjaeldstad.

A total of 23 nationalities and more than 4,500 COVID-19 patients from around the world took part in the study.

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