A study of COVID-19 patients in the United Kingdom has found
that loss of taste and smell were no longer among the most telling symptoms of
the virus.
The recent survey of about 17,500 patients who were asked
about their symptoms found that 58% reported a sore throat, 49% a headache, 40%
a blocked nose, 40% a cough with no phlegm, and 40% a runny nose, the BBC
reported.
After that, 37% reported a cough with phlegm, 35% a hoarse
voice, and 32% sneezing.
Only 27% reported fatigue, 13% altered smell, 11% shortness
of breath, and 10% loss of smell, the BBC said. Loss of smell was ranked 20th
among reported symptoms.
During the early days of the pandemic, loss of smell and
taste were among the most distinct symptoms of COVID infection.
The REACT (Real-time Assessment of Community Transmission)
study was developed by Imperial College London and was done by sending randomly
selected people swab tests to do at home monthly, then asking about their
symptoms.
The symptoms may have changed because the coronavirus has
mutated since the start of the pandemic, according to the study. The BA.4 and
BA.5 variants now dominate COVID cases in the United Kingdom and many other
nations.
The finding about the changes in symptoms has been reported
elsewhere. A study published in May in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
said the rates of smell and taste loss were 17% for Omicron, compared with 44%
for Delta and 50% for Alpha.
But evidence points to a renewal in loss of smell among
people infected with the BA.4 and BA.5 variants, NBC News reported.
Valentina Parma, PhD, a psychologist who focuses on humans’
sense of smell at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, said more
COVID patients are saying they’ve lost their sense of smell.
“What I am seeing in my corner of the world is a spike,” she
told NBC News. “There seems to be more requests than earlier this year but
still significantly less than with Delta.”
