There are few symptoms more popularly associated with COVID than cough, fever and shortness of breath. But a new international study suggests that there is another set of symptoms that can reveal a case of coronavirus much more accurately: loss of taste or smell. According to the study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, these two symptoms of COVID are actually the clearest signs that you have the virus. Read on to learn more about the study’s findings and to find out the severity of your COVID symptoms, check if you have one of these COVID symptoms, the CDC says to call 911.
Using longitudinal and cross-sectional surveys, experts from Harvard Medical School, University College London (UCL), King’s College London and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel analyzed data reported by patients from three digital surveillance platforms in the U.S., UK and Israel. With a total test pool of more than 10 million respondents, 658,325 individuals tested positive for coronavirus, representing a five percent positive rate.
They found that anosmia and ageusia (the clinical terms for loss of smell and taste, respectively) were “ubiquitous” and “a reliable COVID-19 signal, regardless of the participatory surveillance platform or testing policy”. In fact, these two telltale symptoms were “consistently the strongest indicator of COVID-19 infection on all platforms over time,” explained the researchers. Anosmia and ageusia were highly predictive of a positive test, highlighting the importance of educating the public about a wider range of symptoms.
Read on for more information on the first signs of COVID and a rare symptom, but seriously, see This rare symptom may mean that you have a severe case of COVID.
Read the original article at Better life.