Two in three NHS workers may have been unwittingly infected

TWO thirds of NHS staff may have been unknowingly infected with coronavirus around the peak of the epidemic, research suggests.

The University of East Anglia and University College London surveyed 262 healthcare workers from Barts Health NHS Trust in London in the week of April 17 to 23.

They found that two thirds had reported the loss of taste or smell before it was considered a symptom of Covid-19.

Of the 73 staff members who had taken a coronavirus test after develop- ing a persistent cough or high temperature, 76 per cent had tested positive for the virus.

The finding may explain why levels of hospital-acquired infections rose steadily during this period.

In line with Public Health England guidance at the time of the study, staff who only had the loss of taste or smell as a symptom would not have been required to isolate or be eligible for testing.

Papers published by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies in June show that during the peak of the epidemic, transmission within hospitals accounted for up to 22 per cent of patients and up to 11 per cent of deaths.

Prof Carl Philpott, the senior author, from the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical School, said: “Smell loss as a symptom of Covid-19 is particularly important for healthcare professionals because they are at the frontline of the pandemic – and at high risk of both contracting and spreading the virus.

“The really interesting thing that we found was that 168 of the participants – nearly two thirds – said that they had lost their sense of smell or taste at some point between mid-february and mid-april.

“We also found a strong association between smell loss and the positive Covid-19 test results, with those who had lost their sense of smell being almost five times more likely to test positive.

“This suggests that a large proportion of healthcare workers may have already been infected with Covid-19, with only mild symptoms.”

The team said although the research was carried out at one NHS trust, they would expect to see similar results across the country.

“Cases like this most likely went undiagnosed at the time because of a lack of awareness about smell loss as a symptom,” added Prof Philpott.