Covid smell loss ‘worse than flu’

LOSS of smell associated with Covid-19 infection is “much more profound” when compared with a bad cold or flu, scientists have found.

A team of researchers across Europe, which included experts from the University of East Anglia, compared the experiences of loss of taste and smell of people who had Covid-19 alongside those with other upper respiratory tract infections.

In the small study involving 30 people, they also found that unlike common cold or flu, those with Covid-19 cannot detect bitter or sweet tastes.

The researchers believe their findings, published in the journal Rhinology, could help in developing smell and taste tests as a more rapid screening tool to identify those who may have Covid-19.

Lead researcher Professor Carl Philpott, from the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical School, said: “This is very exciting because it means that smell and taste tests could be used to discriminate between Covid-19 patients and people with a regular cold or flu.

“Although such tests could not replace formal diagnostic tools such as throat swabs, they could provide an alternative when conventional tests are not available or when rapid screening is needed – particularly at the level of primary care, in emergency departments or at airports.”

The team carried out smell and taste tests on 10 Covid-19 patients, 10 people with bad colds, and a control group of 10 healthy people.

Prof Philpott said: “We found that smell loss was much more profound in the Covid-19 patients.”