THE founder of an Andover-based charity has co-authored a global crowdsourced survey of Covid-19 patients to provide important new evidence linking smell and taste changes to the virus.

The loss of smell, taste and chemesthesis - or sensitivity to chemicals such as those in chilli peppers - are providing important clues to the understanding of the novel coronavirus.

The findings, made by the Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research (GCCR) may have implications for recognising new cases of the disease, especially where none of the other recognised symptoms are present.

Chrissi Kelly, founder of AbScent, a charity based in London Street which supports patients who have lost their sense of smell and taste, is one of nine authors of the survey.

Based on entries from 4,039 participants representing more than 40 countries, the initial findings reveal that smell, taste and chemesthesis are significantly reduced in patients diagnosed with Covid-19.

Importantly, nasal blockage does not appear to be associated with these losses, suggesting that they may be an important way to distinguish Covid-19 infection from other viral infections, such as cold or flu.

Chrissi said: “The findings of this study demonstrate that Covid-19 broadly impacts chemosensory function and that disruption in these functions should be considered an indicator of Covid-19.

“The results may give doctors more confidence in recommending self-distancing measures for patients who report sudden smell loss.”

Researchers in the GCCR launched the survey on April 7 and queried the database 11 days later, on April 18, for the purpose of reporting initial results. The findings have appeared in MedRxiv pending peer-reviewed publication.

The researchers distributed the questionnaire globally in 10 languages — English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish — although, as of May 7, it is now deployed in 29 languages. Responses were crowdsourced through traditional print, television and radio media; social media; flyers; professional networks; and word of mouth.

The survey measures self-reported smell and taste in participants who were diagnosed with either an objective test, such as a swab test, or as the result of clinical observations by a medical professional within the two weeks prior to completing the questionnaire.

Participants were asked to quantify their smell and taste, as well as their chemesthetic function — their ability to smell, taste and perceive cooling, tingling and burning sensations — before and during the illness. They were also asked to quantify any nasal blockages.

“Looking at the results, we noticed the kinds of changes to smell and taste that members of our patient group have been discussing for the last two months,” Chrissi added.

“It is satisfying to know that we are one step closer to learning more about the needs of the patients in the AbScent support group”

The GCCR project is distinct from prior studies on sensory loss and COVID-19 in that it leverages a massive crowd-sourced, multinational approach and does so within a collaborative open-science framework. 

Authors on the paper include: John Hayes, PhD, Penn State, USA; Thomas Hummel, MD, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany; Chrissi Kelly, Founder, AbScent.org, UK; Steve Munger, PhD, University of Florida, USA; Masha Niv, PhD, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel; Kathrin Ohla, PhD, Research Center Jülich, Germany; Valentina Parma, PhD, Temple University, USA (Chair of the GCCR); Danielle Reed, PhD, Monell Chemical Senses Center, USA; and Maria Veldhuizen, PhD, Mersin University, Turkey.