Scientists found out why COVID-19 patients lose sense of smell

As soon as the virus started to spread all over the world, many countries announced that infected people have lost sense of smell. This symptom turned to be quite common.

After several researches, scientists found out how exactly the virus blocks the sense of smell. It is important to note, that this is symptom of other infectious diseases, including the common cold.

The ability to smell appears as soon as the virus is neutralized. The smell problems are connected with nasal congestion: smells simply do not reach receptors.

But the situation is different in case of coronavirus. Everything happens suddenly and with no reason. The most infected didn’t even have a runny nose.

Experts found out that he olfactory cleft, which is responsible for trapping odors, is blocked by swollen soft tissues. Other nose parts function normally, that’s why people don’t face any difficulties.

Once the coronavirus enters the body, it searches for ACE2 receptors on the cells to attach to them. The TMPRSS2 protein helps the strain. The immune system reacts immediately, inflammatory processes are activated. So, inflammation is the reason of sense of smell loss.