Even so, changes in an individualвЂ™s sense of taste could be a valuable way to identify carriers who are otherwise mostly asymptomatic. Prior research has found that a significant number of people who have COVID-19 donвЂ™t know theyвЂ™ve been infected and may be spreading the virus.ДЄziz and his research collaborators suspect an altered sense of taste is more prevalent in patients with minor symptoms, though more studies are needed to validate that suspicion. Not just for suspected COIVD patients, but also for the general population to identify healthy carriers of the virus,вЂќ Aziz said. вЂњWe propose that this symptom should be one of the screening symptoms in addition to the fever, shortness of breath and productive cough. Researchers suspect the true prevalence could be even higher because some of the studies were based on reviews of patient charts, which may not have noted every symptom. Of the 817 patients studied, 49.8% experienced changes to their sense of taste.

вЂњWe were beginning to note that altered or lost sense of taste were also present, not just here and there, but in a significant proportion.вЂќДЄziz and his research collaborators analyzed data from five studies conducted between mid-January and the end of March. Muhammad Aziz, chief internal medicine resident at UToledo and the paperвЂ™s lead author. вЂњEarlier studies didnвЂ™t note this symptom, and that was probably because of the severity of other symptoms like cough, fever and trouble breathing,вЂќ said Dr. The systematic review, published in the journal Gastroenterology, could provide yet another diagnostic hint for clinicians who suspect their patients might have the disease. Nearly half of individuals who contract COVID-19 experience an abnormal or complete loss of their sense of taste, a new analysis led by a University of Toledo researcher has found.

Altered taste