Will it be confirmed that at least 3% of symptomatic cases of Covid-19 lead to long-lasting loss of the sense of smell?
Market Rules
The temporary loss of smell is one of the best-known symptoms of COVID-19 which might affect as much as 80% of the symptomatic cases according to some studies. However, according to a new study by researchers from the University of São Paulo (Brazil), this loss may become permanent or long-lasting in a small portion of people who contracted the disease. Among the patients who took part in this research and presented some loss of smell, about 5% stated that the symptom remained for a long time after the infection had been cured.
According to specialists, even though the olfactory sensory neurons do not express the gene for the ACE2 receptor where SARS-COV-2 binds to infect cells, the virus generates the symptom when it infects cells that support neurons in the olfactory bulb, which do have the gene for the ACE2 receptor.
If, by the end of 2021, the scientific community reaches the consensus that at least 3% of symptomatic cases of Covid-19 lead to a permanent or long-lasting loss of the sense of smell, this market will be resolved as "yes".