International healthcare officials are investigating whether the loss of smell or taste could be an early warning sign that a person has contracted the new coronavirus.
“We’ve seen quite a few reports now about people in the early stages of disease may lose the sense of smell, may lose the sense of taste,” Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist who leads the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Programme, told reporters Monday. “We are reaching out to a number of countries and looking at the cases that have already been reported to see if this is a common feature.”
If that pattern holds, it could provide patients and doctors with a way to identify the infection in the absence of a proper test — a particularly valuable prospect given the shortage of tests and the risk that people without obvious symptoms transmit the virus unwittingly. British doctors are already advising people who suffer a loss of smell or taste to self-quarantine for a week.
“We really want to raise awareness that this is a sign of infection and that anyone who develops loss of sense of smell should self-isolate,” said Claire Hopkins, president of the British Rhinological Society. “It could contribute to slowing transmission and save lives.”
Kerkhove was less certain about the new symptom, as she emphasized that the “major” symptoms are fever and dry cough.
“And so, a loss of smell or a loss of taste is something that we’re looking into,” she said. “We’re looking forward to the results of these early investigations that are being conducted by a number of countries so that we have a more evidence-based approach, and we can add that to the list.”
