![What does smell loss reveal about covid-19, and how long will it last? 1 New Scientist Default Image](https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/06111137/gettyimages-1229340223_web.jpg?width=300)
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A WEEK or so after Jackie Dishner lost both her sense of taste and smell, her diagnosis was confirmed тАУ she had covid-19.
Dishner, an artist living in Phoenix, Arizona, knew that anosmia was a possible symptom of the disease, but she never imagined that after six months, most smells would still elude her, except perhaps the whiff of a particularly strong cup of coffee. She would also occasionally detect phantom odours.
Studies reveal that between 40 and 85 per cent of people тАж