Loss Of Smell, Taste Is Coronavirus Symptom: Bucks Co. Official

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — Health officials in Bucks County are making residents aware of a symptom that could be indicative of a coronavirus infection.

Bucks County Health Department Director David Damsker said during a Friday press briefing that the first symptom of coronavirus is not always fever. There is another symptom that more and more patients with coronavirus are reporting: a loss of smell and taste.

Damsker said those with a runny nose and a loss of taste and smell could likely have coronavirus.

"What's very striking now, over the past several days, between 80 and 90 percent of all of our patients have a loss of smell and taste," Damsker said.

The loss of taste and smell is a symptom reported by many doctors internationally, and has recently gained coverage in the national news media.

NPR reports that doctors in Italy, China, South Korea, and beyond have reported a loss of taste and smell in patients who later tested positive for the coronavirus. The discovery prompted a team of British doctors to draft this memo to Public Health England.

"While there is a chance the apparent increase in incidence could merely reflect the attention COVID-19 has attracted in the media, and that such cases may be caused by typical rhinovirus and coronavirus strains, it could potentially be used as a screening tool to help identify otherwise asymptomatic patients, who could then be better instructed on self-isolation," the memo said.

During the Friday news conference, Damsker also noted that while the county has 144 cases of coronavirus, there are likely many more than that. Since people who are mildly ill may not be tested, it's hard to know the true number of cases, he noted.

In Bucks County, 10 coronavirus patients are hospitalized. Six are in serious condition and four are critically ill.

>>>Full coverage of coronavirus in Pennsylvania is here.