Health Ministry adds loss of smell and taste as symptoms of COVID
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday (June 13) included the loss of smell and taste as symptoms of COVID-19.
In the clinical management protocol for COVID-19, the ministry said, “loss of smell (anosmia) or loss of taste (ageusia) preceding the onset of respiratory symptoms has also been reported” among patients reporting to various treatment facilities.
Fever, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, expectoration, myalgia, rhinorrhea, sore throat and diarrhoea are the symptoms of the disease, the protocol added.
Older people and immune-suppressed patients, in particular, may have atypical symptoms like fatigue, reduced alertness, reduced mobility, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, delirium, and absence of fever, the ministry said in the protocol. It added that children might not have reported fever or cough as frequently as adults.
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As on June 11, the protocol revealed that 27 per cent of patients had fever, 21 per cent cough, 10 per cent sore throat, 8 per cent breathlessness, 7 per cent weakness, 3 per cent running nose and 24 other symptoms.
The protocol said the virus spread from person to person directly through close contact, especially through respiratory droplets that are released when the infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. These droplets may also land on surfaces, where the virus remains viable, it added.
It said the major risk factors for the disease are being more than 60 years old or comorbid conditions like diabetes, hypertension, cardiac disease, cerebrovascular disease, chronic lung disease, chronic kidney disease, immune-suppression and cancer.
