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Once a hallmark sign of many COVID-19 cases — sometimes more reliable than even flu-like symptoms at sniffing out people infected by the virus early in the pandemic — was the sudden loss of smell and taste. But growing research suggests this symptom has become far less common, with only a small fraction of new patients reporting it last year.
The findings come from analysis of a sweeping dataset of medical records gathered by the National Institutes of Health for COVID-19 researchers from around the country.
"In the past, people were quite aware, if they had a cold and they lost their sense of smell, that they potentially had COVID. Whereas now, you really can't tell," Dr. Evan Reiter, medical director of VCU Health's Smell and Taste Disorders Center, told CBS News.
Reiter led the study, which was published in May in the journal Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, examining odds of patients with COVID-19 also reporting loss of smell and taste.
www.cbsnews.com
The findings come from analysis of a sweeping dataset of medical records gathered by the National Institutes of Health for COVID-19 researchers from around the country.
"In the past, people were quite aware, if they had a cold and they lost their sense of smell, that they potentially had COVID. Whereas now, you really can't tell," Dr. Evan Reiter, medical director of VCU Health's Smell and Taste Disorders Center, told CBS News.
Reiter led the study, which was published in May in the journal Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, examining odds of patients with COVID-19 also reporting loss of smell and taste.
Loss of smell or taste was once a telltale sign of COVID. Not anymore.
The latest research suggests a prevalence of just 3% to 4% for this once-common symptom in recent waves.
www.cbsnews.com
