Loss of smell or taste now Covid symptoms

New Delhi, June 13: Loss of smell or taste has been added to the list of Covid-19 symptoms, according to the revised clinical management protocols released by the Union Health Ministry on Saturday.

The ministry listed muscle pain, diarrhoea, congested nasal cavity, sputum production as Covid-19 symptoms, besides fever, cough, fatigue, sore throat and shortness of breath.

People have also complained of loss of smell (anosmia) or loss of taste (ageusia) preceding the onset of respiratory symptoms, it said.

According to an expert, though it is not specific to Covid-19 as one may even suffer from loss of smell and taste when they have flu or influenza, but then it could be one of the early signs of the onset of the disease and may help in timely detection and treatment.

In its revised ‘Clinical Management Protocols for Covid-19’ released on Saturday, the health ministry said older people and immune-suppressed patients in particular may present with atypical symptoms such as fatigue, reduced alertness, reduced mobility, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, delirium, and absence of fever, the ministry said.

Children might not have reported fever or cough as frequently as adults. The US’s national public health institute, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), had in early May incorporated “a new loss of taste or smell” in the list of Covid-19 symptoms.

Direct person-to-person transmission occurs through close contact, mainly through respiratory droplets that are released when the infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. —