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This is according to preliminary work by the American Academy of Neurology.
The loss of the sense of smell and taste can last up to five months after Covid-19 infection, according to a preliminary study released this Monday.
The final results of the work will be presented in April at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.
ohannes Frasnelli, from the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières (Canada) and one of the authors of this study, recalls that, although covid-19 is a new disease, previous research had already confirmed that many of the infected people lose their sense of smell and taste in the early stages of it.
As the scientist explains in a press release from the American Academy of Neurology, the objective of this new work has been to go further and observe how long this loss of smell and taste persists, and how serious it is.
To this end, 813 health workers who tested positive for covid-19 participated in the research; Each person completed a questionnaire and then took a home test to assess their sense of taste and smell an average of five months after diagnosis.
Patients rated their senses of taste and smell on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 meaning no sense at all and 10 meaning a strong sense of taste or smell.
A total of 580 people lost their sense of smell during the initial illness. Of this group, 297 participants (51%) said they still had not regained their sense of smell five months later.
On average, people rated their sense of smell a 7 out of 10 after illness, compared to a 9 out of 10 before they became ill.
A total of 527 participants lost their sense of taste during the initial illness; Of this group, 200 people (38%) said they still had not recovered their sense of taste five months later.
On average, people rated their sense of taste an 8 out of 10 after illness, compared to a 9 out of 10 before they became ill.
"Our results show that an impaired sense of smell and taste may persist in a number of people with covid-19," details Frasnelli.
For this researcher, this underlines the importance of monitoring infected people and the need for further research to discover the extent of the neurological problems associated with the disease.
The researchers acknowledge some limitations of this study, including the subjective nature of the odor and taste ratings.
