Health 24 reports that scientists are calling for loss of smell to be recognised as a main COVID symptom, based on studies which showed that a majority of people who listed loss of sense of smell as a symptom would test positive for COVID antibodies. This could have important ramifications for policymaking, which they go on to discuss:
Currently, many guidelines still urge members of the public to only self-isolate or test when they display flu-like symptoms.
Although the study has limitations, it strongly suggests that an acute loss of smell should be considered as a sign to isolate or test. It also suggests that there is an over-reliance on coughing and fever as the main Covid-19 symptoms.
Prof Batterham said, “Early self-recognition of Covid-19 symptoms by the members of the public, together with rapid self-isolation and PCR testing are vital in order to limit the spread of the disease. Currently, most countries around the world do not recognise a sudden loss of smell as a symptom of Covid-19.”
