One of the main challenges of COVID-19, the disease caused by the pathogen SARS-CoV-2, is that many people who transmit the disease will show mild symptoms or be asymptomatic, making it very difficult to identify how many people are infected with the disease. and who could spread it to others.
In fact, in a report of diagnostic tests on patients from South Korea -one of the most studied countries in relation to the coronavirus-, it is concluded that 30% of those positive for coronavirus also experienced the loss of the sense of smell, which we know as anosmia.
It is a telltale symptom that is often present even in asymptomatic carriers: the sudden loss of smell and, in some cases, taste.
“What many patients are now reporting is the loss of smell and taste, in many cases abruptly, associated to a greater or lesser degree with symptoms of a viral process that, in the current epidemiological context, make the coronavirus the main suspect. ”, Affirms the Spanish Society of Neurology.
While each case is different, the telltale symptoms of the new coronavirus have been widely accepted: high fever, persistent cough, or shortness of breath. In the most severe cases, those affected have reported feeling confused or short of breath, and anxiety is sometimes the most prevalent symptom of all.
The decreased sense of taste and smell caused by COVID-19 remains anecdotal , of course, but a team of British ear, nose and throat doctors are asking adults who lose their sense of smell to isolate themselves for seven days. to prevent the spread of the disease. For them, it could be an indicator of the coronavirus, so self-isolation is recommended. In addition, a few days ago, the American Academy of Otolaryngology published on its website the request to include anosmia (loss of the sense of smell), hyposmia (reduced ability to smell) and dysgeusia (loss of taste) to the list of symptoms to be considered in a possible COVID-19 infection .
“Coronaviruses have previously been associated with what we call post-viral olfactory loss: it is the loss of smell that persists after a cold. There are many respiratory viruses that can potentially cause problems with odor receptors. So far, with COVID-19, the odor loss appears to be transient , but only as time passes will we know how many people have a more permanent loss. We are not yet aware if this symptom is common or a sign of a misdiagnosis , but we certainly recommend a warning sign to self-isolate and, if taken into account, it can help prevent spread, “explains Carl Philpott, professor of rhinology. and olfactology at Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia (England) at Science Media Center .
These “silent carriers” play a key role in the massive spread of the disease, as without the obvious symptoms of fever and persistent cough they cannot be detected by current screening measures.
It is recommended that patients make a call to local health services if they present with this symptom for possible treatment or it could even help early detection of the virus, although it may not require anything other than self-isolation until the infection has passed . Experts advise those who experience anosmia suddenly to self-isolate, as this would indicate transmission of the disease, something that we are trying by all means to stop.
