New Data Indicates Loss of Smell and Taste Prevalent Symptom of COVID-19

Published by Matt Fishman on

New data shows 65.03% of people (involved in the study) who tested positive for COVID-19 had loss of smell and taste as a symptom. This result and further statistical analysis of the data has led a team of researchers to declare “that loss of smell and taste is a potential predictor of COVID-19”.

Data comes from a smartphone app, launched in late March, which fielded inputs of over 2,618,862 participants who reported their potential symptoms of COVID-19.

Of these 2.6 million participants, 18,401 had undergone an official COVID-19 diagnostic test. Of the 18,401 individuals tested, 7,178 individuals tested positive. 4,668 of the positive 7,178 individuals (or 65.03%) noted loss of smell and taste as a symptom.

The study also suggested the “combination of loss of smell and taste, fatigue, persistent cough and loss of appetite” as symptoms resulted in the best predictor of testing positive for COVID-19.

Currently, the World Health Organization (WHO) lists loss of taste or smell as a “[l]ess common symptoms”.