Smell that? The smelly sign that may increase your risk of dying by 46% within 10 years

A study published in May surveyed 616,318 people in the United States who have had COVID-19.

It found that, compared with those who had been infected with the original virus, people who had contracted the Alpha variant — the first variant of concern to arise — were 50 percent as likely to have chemosensory disruption.

This probability fell to 44 percent for the later Delta variant, and to 17 percent for the latest variant, Omicron.

Loss of smell has also been associated with long Covid – the symptoms that stretch on long after the infection has disappeared.