US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — As soon as the virus went beyond the borders of China, data began to arrive from many states that the smell lost due to the virus in people. This symptom was very common.
After various studies, scientists finally got a complete understanding of how the virus blocks a person’s sense of smell. It is worth noting that this symptom is also characteristic of other infectious diseases, including the common cold.
The ability to smell is immediately available as soon as a virus is neutralized. Problems with smell are associated with nasal congestion: aromas simply do not reach receptors in the nose. In some cases, the loss of smell can persist for months or even years.
In the case of coronavirus, the situation is completely different: for some people, the difficulties disappeared as quickly as they appeared. Everything happens suddenly and for no apparent reason. Most patients did not have a runny nose, and they could breathe normally with their nose.
As the experts found out after analyzing computed tomography images, the olfactory cleft, which is responsible for trapping odors, is blocked by swollen soft tissues. The remaining parts of the nose are functioning normally, so people do not notice the 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: it is due to it that the virus quickly penetrates the cell and begins to actively multiply. The immune system immediately responds, inflammatory processes are activated. It is inflammation that is the reason for the inability to smell.
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