A study of data collected from the application of monitoring the symptoms of «Covid 19» that results from infection of the new corona virus, showed that losing the ability to smell and taste is one of the best ways to determine whether or not someone is infected with the virus.

Scientists in Britain and the United States have developed the app to help monitor the outbreak. The data analyzed by the researchers showed that 60% of the patients whose tests were confirmed as "Covid 19" recorded a sense of smell and taste, compared to 18% of those whose tests were negative.

The results, which were published online but have not been reviewed by other experts, are more robust in anticipating a positive result for the Covid 19 test than self-measuring temperatures, the researchers said at Kings University in London.

The researchers say this application can slow down the outbreak and more quickly identify people at higher risk.

The scientists noted that if enough people share symptoms, the application can also provide the health system with very valuable information.

"This study, based on application data, is a way to find out the focuses (COFED 19), the new symptoms to look for, and it can be used as a planning tool to target quarantine and send devices," said Andrew Chan, a professor at Harvard University School of Medicine in the United States who participated in the study. Ventilator and provide real-time data to plan future outbreaks. ”
Of the 1.5 million users of the application from March 24-29, last year, 26% recorded or more of the disease’s symptoms on the application, of whom 1702 were tested for the virus, with 579 positive results and 1123 negative results.

Using all the data collected, the researchers team developed a mathematical model to determine which combination of symptoms ranging from loss of smell, taste to fever, persistent cough, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and loss of appetite are the most accurate predictors of "Covid 19".

"In addition to other symptoms, it appears that those who suffer from loss of sense of smell and taste are three times more likely than others to have positive results for their Covid 19 results," said Tim Spector, a professor at Kings University who is participating in the study.

The Spector team applied these results to about 400 thousand people who had symptoms of the application and had not yet had a virus analysis, and found that about 13% of them were likely to be infected. This indicates that about 50,000 people in Britain may have unconfirmed cases of infection, Spector said.