Toronto, Canada.
The loss of the sense of smell and taste can last up to five months later from covid-19 infection according to a preliminary study released Monday.
The final results of the work will be presented in April at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.
Johannes Frasnelli, of the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières (Canada) and one of the authors of this study, recalls that although the covid-19 it’s a new disease, previous research had already found that many of the infected people they lose their sense of smell and taste in the first stages of it.
According to the scientist in a press release from the American Academy of Neurology, the goal of this new work has been to go further and observe how long this persists. loss of smell and taste, And how is it from grave.
To this end, 813 health workers took part in the investigation positive a la covid-19 test; each person completed a questionnaire and then took a home test to assess their own sense of taste and smell on average five months after diagnosis.
Patients rated their senses as taste and smellor on a scale of 0 to 10: 0 meant they made no sense and 10 meant a strong sense of taste or from the smell.
A total of 580 people lost the sense of smell during the initial disease. Of this group, 297 participants (51%) said they still dida had not recovered the sense of smell five months later.
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On average, people rated their sense of smell baby tun 7 out of 10 after from disease, Compared to a 9 out of 10 before getting sick.
A total of 527 participants lost the sense of taste during the initial illness; of this group, 200 people (38%) athey assured that they had not yet regained their sense of taste five months later. On average, people rated their sense of taste with one 8 out of 10 after of the disease, compared with orn 9 out of 10 before getting sick.
“Our results show that one sense of smell and impaired taste may persist in a number of people with covid19 “, details Frasnelli.EFAITH