CORONA If you have lost your sense of smell or taste you could be a 'hidden carrier' of the coronavirus

michaelteever

michaelteever

Deceased
I'm posting this as separate article rather than the Main Coronavirus, if he needs to be moved, I'm fine with that.

Just thought it was important enough to post it as a stand alone.

Michael

For fair use education/research purposes.

Link: If you have lost your sense of smell or taste you could be a 'hidden carrier' of the coronavirus

If you have lost your sense of smell or taste you could be a 'hidden carrier' of the coronavirus
(By Adam Bienkov)

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  • A sudden loss of smell, known as anosmia or hyposmia, could be a symptom of the coronavirus, even if patients experience no other symptoms, according to leading Rhinologists in the UK.
  • Evidence from South Korea, China and Italy suggests that many patients with COVID-19 may have experienced a loss of smell without any other symptoms.
  • The British Association of Otorhinolaryngology calls on the authorities to advise anyone with a loss of smell or taste to self-isolate.
  • Young people could be more likely to carry the disease without presenting the more commonly-recognised symptoms of fever and coughing, they believe.

Anyone experiencing a sudden loss of smell could be a "hidden carrier" of the coronavirus, even if they have no other symptoms, according to evidence compiled by leading Rhinologists in the UK.

In South Korea, China and Italy, around a third of patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 have also reported a loss of smell, known as anosmia or hyposmia, leading ear, nose and throat experts in the UK have reported.

"In South Korea, where testing has been more widespread, 30% of patients testing positive have had anosmia as their major presenting symptom in otherwise mild cases," President of the British Rhinological Society Professor, Clare Hopkins, and the president of the British Association of Otorhinolaryngology, Professor Nirmal Kumar, said in a joint statement.

The professors said that many patients around the world, who have tested positive for COVID-19, are only presenting the symptoms of loss of smell and taste, without the more commonly recognized symptoms of high fever and coughing.

"There have been a rapidly growing number of reports of a significant increase in the number of patients presenting with anosmia in the absence of other symptoms," the statement says.

"Iran has reported a sudden increase in cases of isolated anosmia, and many colleagues from the US, France and Northern Italy have the same experience."

The lack of other recognized symptoms in these cases may mean they are unlikely to be tested and isolated, meaning they could be contributing to the rapid spread of the disease around the world.

"I think these patients may be some of the hitherto hidden carriers that have facilitated the rapid spread of COVID-19," they added.

Professor Kumar told Sky News that younger patients in particular may only demonstrate a loss of smell or taste, without demonstrating the more commonly recognized coronavirus symptoms of high fever and persistent coughs.

"In young patients, they do not have any significant symptoms such as the cough and fever, but they may have just the loss of sense of smell and taste, which suggests that these viruses are lodging in the nose," he said.

Young people may not present common coronavirus symptoms
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The professors called for anyone presenting the symptoms of loss of taste or smell to be instructed to self-isolate for seven days to prevent the potential further spread of the disease.
 
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michaelteever

michaelteever

Deceased
I thought it was worthy ainitfunny also. Seems to be an agreement among the countries most infected.

If it proves to be accurate, it becomes an early warning sign to self quarantine. It could slow down considerably if the 'hidden carrier's' had a heads up before they continue to pass it on to others.

Michael
 
michaelteever

michaelteever

Deceased
Very true moldy, but this many all at the same time, indicates that it probably isn't neurological, unless that's how the virus works??

Michael
 
michaelteever

michaelteever

Deceased
Thanks for your posts, but I'm still waiting for someone/anyone to explain why this is actually affecting people who haven't shown any outward signs of the virus??

Michael
 
michaelteever

michaelteever

Deceased
Finally! New information!

For fair use education/research purposes.

The link: Coronavirus patients, doctors seem to be temporarily losing their sense of taste and smell — here’s why

The article:

Coronavirus patients, doctors seem to be temporarily losing their sense of taste and smell — here’s why
(By Abby Haglage )

As COVID-19 continues to spread, now topping 370,000 cases worldwide, mentions of a previously unknown symptom of COVID-19 — loss of smell — are gaining traction. “Haven’t been able to smell anything for the last 4 days,” tweeted Rudy Gobert, a player of the Utah Jazz who was the first NBA player to test positive for the coronavirus 11 days ago. “Anyone experiencing the same thing?

According to a paper published Friday by Claire Hopkins, PhD, a professor of rhinology at King’s College London, Gobert is far from alone. “There have been a rapidly growing number of reports of a significant increase in the number of patients presenting with anosmia [loss of smell] in the absence of other symptoms,” Hopkins writes in the paper, published by UK ENT (a medical society of ear nose and throat doctors). “This has been widely shared on medical discussion boards by surgeons from all regions...”

Hopkins adds that while early warnings did not mention anosmia as a symptom of the virus, many countries are now reporting it in their patients, including South Korea, China and Italy. In Germany, doctors are reporting than “2 in 3 confirmed cases” of COVID-19 present with anosmia.

Not everyone is ready to declare loss of smell and taste a symptom of COVID-19 at this point. At a press conference Monday morning, the World Health Organization said it had yet to verify the theory. “We've seen quite a few reports about people in the early stages of the disease [that] may lose the sense of smell, may lose the sense of taste," said Maria Van Kerkhove, PhD, part of the WHO's health emergencies program. "But this is something that we need to look into to really capture if this is one of the signs and symptoms of COVID-19."

Still, in an email to Yahoo Lifestyle, Hopkins says that the reports about the loss of smell as a symptom have not only been shared on medical boards but also “closed social media groups for doctors to share experiences of COVID-19.” On one, Hopkins says an Italian doctor shared that “he and many of his colleagues had lost their sense of smell while working in northern Italy dealing with COVID-19 patients.”

After seeing other reports of the symptoms, Hopkins decided to publish what she and others had found. “I saw so many patients last week who had not been picked up by our hospital screenings questions,” Hopkins tells Yahoo Lifestyle. Ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctors are now expressing concern that if more healthcare workers and patients are not made aware of these new symptoms, many more cases could go undetected.

In the spirit of staying safe, here’s what you need to know.

Those with loss of smell/taste could be asymptomatic carriers
While more research is needed to determine exactly how common it is to experience loss of smell and taste, Hopkins notes that most people with those symptoms had few others, meaning they could be unknowingly passing COVID-19 on. “There is potential that if any adult with anosmia but no other symptoms was asked to self isolate for seven days, in addition to the current symptom criteria used to trigger quarantine, we might be able to reduce the number of otherwise asymptomatic individuals who continue to act as vectors,” Hopkins writes in the paper. “It will also be an important trigger for healthcare personnel to employ full PPE [personal protective equipment]...”

Both symptoms are common, and often caused by inflammation
It may seem alarming to imagine losing the sense of smell and taste, but both symptoms occur frequently and are most often temporary. “Post-viral loss of smell is quite common — occurring with a common cold and affecting up to 300,000 patients a year in the UK,” Hopkins tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “There is a good chance of recovery with reports from Italy matching the experience of my patients and affected colleagues that recovery often starts within 2 weeks.”

Hopkins says the symptoms were surprising given that COVID-19 does not seem to produce “nasal blockage or runny nose,” but those aren’t necessarily required to hinder those senses. William Schaffner, PhD, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University, has one theory. “This [has to do with] an area back behind the nose where the virus lurks,” says Schaffner. “So I would think this has to do with some sort of local inflammatory response.”

Sense of smell and sense of taste are intertwined
Although Hopkins’ paper focuses primarily on the loss of sense of smell, previous research has shown that loss of taste is deeply connected to smell. Schaffner affirms that the two work in tandem. “We’ve been getting lots of reports of loss of taste. Most people don’t realize that their sense of taste is largely controlled by their sense of smell,” Schaffner tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “So if you lose your sense of smell, you also lose much of your sense of taste.”

The symptom probably isn’t new; doctors just may have missed it
For those with fears that the new symptoms signal a mutated virus, Schaffner says there’s another explanation. “This is more likely something that [had] not come to attention sufficiently to be reported,” Schaffner tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “The average doctor — including infectious disease doctors — if we’re taking care of patients who have respiratory infections will not proactively ask about your sense of smell, it just doesn’t occur to ask that. Unless the patient volunteers it, we won’t know about it.”

If you experience loss of taste/smell and feel OK, stay home
Now that both anecdotal and medical reports have found the symptoms to be associated with COVID-19, Hopkins and Schaffner say that anyone experiencing those should self-isolate. “If you suddenly lose your sense of smell and taste you may be positive, that’s the message,” says Schaffner. “So stay away from others because you could be positive even if you don’t have other symptoms.”
 
T

Troke

On TB every waking moment
Lost about 80% of my sense of smell/taste after a fever about 15 yrs ago. May be family trait, my mother lost hers about age 55.

I lost the other 20% on the Johns Hopkins operating table last October. Don't think I got the virus there.

Anyway, everything tastes the same and flowers whose fragrance I used to enjoy, I don't.
 
michaelteever

michaelteever

Deceased
Bump for those who are not aware of this.

For fair use education/research purposes.

The link: Coronavirus: People who lose their sense of taste and smell should self-isolate, scientists urge

The update:

Coronavirus: People who lose their sense of taste and smell should self-isolate, scientists urge
(By Alexandra Thompson)

Losing your sense of taste and smell may be a key symptom of the coronavirus, research suggests.

Officials have long stressed that a fever or persistent dry cough are the two tell-tale signs of infection, but many suspected patients have also complained of muted senses.

To learn more, scientists from King’s College London analysed data collected by the COVID Symptom Tracker App. The coronavirus is thought to be mild in four out of five cases, but it can trigger a respiratory disease called COVID-19.
Of over 1 million app users, 1,702 reported having been tested for the coronavirus, with 579 coming back positive and the remaining 1,123 negative.

More than half (59%) of the positive patients complained of losing their sense of smell and taste, compared to less than one in five (18%) of those who tested negative for the virus.

The scientists are calling for those who are suddenly unable to smell or taste to self-isolate entirely in their home for seven days, like those who develop a fever or cough.

Other experts welcomed the “important study” but noted that a loss of the senses is common with other viruses that also infect the airways.

The coronavirus is thought to have emerged at a seafood and live animal market in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of last year.

It has since spread into 180 countries across every inhabited continent.

Since the outbreak was identified, more than 861,300 cases have been confirmed, of whom over 178,700 have “recovered”, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Cases have been plateauing in China since the end of February, with the US and Europe now the worst-hit areas.
The UK has had more than 25,400 confirmed cases and 1,789 deaths.

Globally, the death toll has exceeded 42,300.

Loss of smell and taste ‘strongest predictor of COVID-19’

The King’s scientists analysed the 1.5 million app users who logged on between 24 and 29 March.
Results suggest that among those who claimed to have tested positive for the infection, a loss to the senses was a greater indicator of the virus than fever.

The scientists then created a model that gauged which symptom is the most accurate predictor of infection.
After taking into account fever, coughing, fatigue, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and poor appetite, the strongest predictor was found to be loss of smell and taste.

“When combined with other symptoms, people with loss of smell and taste appear to be three times more likely to have contracted [the coronavirus] according to our data, and should therefore self-isolate for seven days to reduce the spread of the disease,” said lead author Professor Tim Spector.

Government officials are yet to echo this, with just those with a fever or cough being told to self-isolate to date.
When the model was applied to the over 400,000 app users who were reporting symptoms but had not been tested, results suggest almost 13% of them were likely to be infected.

The app asks users to log any symptoms, or lack of, every day to help scientists understand the spread and progression of the coronavirus.

By 31 March, more than 1.8 million users in the UK had signed up.

“This urgent research is only possible thanks to the 1.8 million citizen scientists logging their symptoms every day,” said Professor Spector.

“This also gives us an evolving map of the UK of where symptoms are occurring two to three weeks before a strain on the NHS, which is why it’s vital to continue logging your health and symptoms, even when you feel completely healthy, and encourage others to use the app.”

The results have been published preliminarily online and not in a peer-reviewed journal.
A peer-reviewed study is scrutinised by a team of independent experts, who point out its strengths and limitations.

‘Convincing’ data

Other experts have largely welcomed the research, arguing it is “convincing enough” that people with a loss of smell or taste should self-isolate to be on the safe side.

“This paper shows good preliminary evidence that loss of smell and taste is likely to be a symptom of [the coronavirus], but its role as an early warning signal has not been confirmed,” said Dr Jane Parker from the University of Reading.
“Given the severity of the pandemic, the data are convincing enough that precautionary self-isolation on sudden loss of smell or taste should be considered.

“[However] there is no evidence those with loss of smell and taste are infectious.”

The coronavirus mainly spreads face-to-face via infected droplets that are expelled in a cough or sneeze.
Although unclear, an infected individual who is not coughing or sneezing would be expected to be less infectious.
It is unknown whether someone with just a loss of smell and taste would pass the virus on.

People who develop a fever or cough must self-isolate entirely for seven days, while other members of their household must do so for two weeks.
 
Laurane

Laurane

Canadian Loonie
Pres Trump said, about that virus Swab he had done......."they stick it up your nose as far as it can go then make a right towards your eye".

I was surprised that nobody quoted that on MSM.....

I would be worried if I lost my sense of smell and taste...... and also my appetite, but no such luck so far
 
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