Coronavirus studies strengthen link between loss of smell or taste and Covid-19
- A study of patients infected during the latest outbreak in Beijing adds to the weight of evidence that it may be a symptom of the disease
- A study earlier this month also concluded that the phenomenon was an ‘important screening criteria’ for patients showing no other symptoms
A study of patients hit by the recent Covid-19 outbreak in Beijing has highlighted how it affected their sense of taste and smell.
Among the 256 Covid-19 cases in the latest outbreak that started on June 11 in Beijing, 33 people, or 13 per cent, reported that they lost their sense of smell.
Another 21 people, or 8 per cent, said their sense of taste had been affected, Wu Guoan, vice-president of Beijing Ditan Hospital, told a press conference last week.
Losing your sense of smell or taste was already known to be a symptom of the disease, and one international study published this month found 32 per cent of patients in China, 69 per cent of the cases in Germany and 49 per cent in France had reported this phenomenon.
The research published in the journal Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery was based on a study of 394 patients – 239 from China, 39 from Germany and 116 from France.
Across all the countries studied, a total of 41 per cent, or 161 patients, reported a loss of smell or taste.