How COVID-19 smell, taste loss differs from common cold decoded
London: Although COVID-19 patients may lose their sense of smell, they can breathe freely, do not tend to have a runny or blocked nose, and cannot detect bitter or sweet tastes, a study published on Wednesday has found.
The study is the first to compare how people with COVID-19 smell and taste disorders differ from those with other causes of upper respiratory tract infections, according to the researchers, including those from the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the UK.
The researchers hope that their work could help develop smell and taste tests for fast COVID-19 screening - in primary care and emergency departments.
The findings, published in the journal Rhinology, lend weight to the theory that COVID-19 infects the brain and central nervous system.
"The loss of smell and taste is a prominent symptom of COVID-19, however it is also a common symptom of having a bad cold, said lead researcher Carl Philpott, a professor at UEA's Norwich Medical School.
We wanted to find out exactly what differentiates COVID -19 smell loss with the kind of smell loss you might have with a cold and blocked-up nose," Philpott said.
The research team carried out smell and taste tests on 10 COVID-19 patients, 10 people with bad colds and a control group of 10 healthy people -- all matched for age and sex.
"We wanted to see if their smell and taste test scores could help discriminate between COVID-19 patients and those with a heavy cold, Philpott said.
The researchers noted that COVID-19 behaves differently to other respiratory viruses, for example by causing the body's immune system to over-react, known as a cytokine storm, and by affecting the nervous system.
They found that smell loss was much more profound in the COVID-19 patents, and they were less able to identify smells, and were not able to identify bitter or sweet tastes.
The researchers said it was this loss of true taste which seemed to be present in the COVID-19 patients compared to those with a cold.
"This is very exciting because it means that smell and taste tests could be used to discriminate between COVID-19 patients and people with a regular cold or flu, Philpott said.
"Although such tests could not replace formal diagnostic tools such as throat swabs, they could provide an alternative when conventional tests are not available or when rapid screening is needed -- particularly at the level of primary care, in emergency departments or at airports, he added.
The study also shows that there are altogether different things going on when it comes to smell and taste loss for COVID-19 patients, compared to those with a bad cold, the researchers said.
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PM Modi justifies anti-Muslim rhetoric, says "I put truth before country”
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a speech on Tuesday, reiterated his criticisms against Muslims and accused the Congress party of attempting to extend reservation on the basis of religion, specifically for Muslims. Addressing a speech in Rajasthan’s Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, PM Modi accused the Congress of hatching a “deep conspiracy” to take away people’s wealth and distribute it among “select” individuals.
Modi attacked Muslims, India’s largest religious minority, and the Congress, claiming that the grand old party wanted to reduce the “SC-ST reservation and distribute it among the Muslims” during its time in power at the Union. Continuing his scathing attack on Congress, PM Modi also stated that the party was conspiring to “snatch your property” and “distribute it among selected people.”
The prime minister said, “The day before yesterday in Rajasthan, I put forth some truth in front of the country, and the entire Congress and INDI alliance went into a panic. I put forth the truth that Congress is plotting to snatch your property and distribute it to their special people…When I exposed their politics, they got so angry that they started abusing Modi.” He continued, “Congress hatching deep conspiracy to snatch your property, distribute it among selected people.”
“When the Constitution was drafted, reservation based on religion was opposed, so that SC, ST, and OBC castes could get protection. Former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh, in his speech, had said that Muslims have the first right on the country’s resources. This was Manmohan Singh’s statement. Congress’s thinking has always been of appeasement and vote bank politics. As soon as the Congress government came to power at the Centre in 2004, its first task was to try to provide reservation to Muslims by reducing SC/ST reservations in Andhra Pradesh. This was a pilot project that Congress wanted to try in the entire country. Between 2004 and 2010, Congress tried four times to implement Muslim reservations in Andhra Pradesh. However, due to legal hurdles and awareness of the Supreme Court, they could not fulfill his plans. In 2011, Congress tried to implement it across the country. They snatched the rights given to SC/ST and OBC and gave them to others for vote bank politics,” PM Modi said.
“…they [Congress] wanted to grant reservation to one section of the society by cutting into the quotas meant for Dalits and backward classes, which is completely against the Constitution. The reservation rights that Dr. Babasaheb gave to Dalits, backward classes, and tribals, the Congress and the INDI Alliance wanted to give them to specific minorities based on religion,” PM Modi said.
PM Modi’s remarks drew fierce condemnation from the opposition for peddling Islamophobia and for breaking election rules which bar candidates from engaging in any activity that aggravates religious tensions. The Election Commission of India’s model code of conduct forbids candidates to “appeal to caste or communal feelings” to secure votes.
In a clear violation of the model code of conduct, Prime Minister and BJP’s star election campaigner Narendra Modi Sunday described Muslim minorities in India as “infiltrators” and “those who have more children.”
The Election Commission of India declined to comment on the hate speech made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi against Muslims during BJP’s poll campaign in Rajasthan.
A spokesperson for the Election Commission (EC) said: “We decline comment.”
