Loss of taste or smell is one of COVID-19's unique symptoms.
(CDC/Alissa Eckert, MS)
One of COVID-19’s unique symptoms is that it often results in the loss of smell and taste.
An international group of scientists is studying changes in smell, taste and flavor associated with COVID-19 and other respiratory symptoms.
The 600-member Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research is asking COVID-19 patients and survivors to participate in an online study.
It’s available in 29 languages and takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete.
Sachiko Koyama is one of the consortium’s researchers and a former associate scientist at Indiana University’s school of medicine.
In addition to the study, she’s monitoring how people suffering from the loss of taste and smell are seeking information and support online.
Koyama says a surprisingly large number of COVID-19 patients with that symptom seem otherwise unaffected by the virus — at least physically.
“I did some poll in this (Facebook) group, and the percentage of the people who had no other symptoms — or no mentioning of other symptoms — is 45 percent of the people who answered,” she says. “So, half of the people really didn’t have other symptoms.”
Koyama says the figure is limited to an individual Facebook group, which she also administers. But it reflects how that symptom is enough to drive people to seek support.
She says even without other symptoms, many COVID-19 patients who’ve lost their sense of smell or taste experience severe psychological stress as a result.
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