Those who can no longer smell anything should stay at home. That’s what virologist Drosten advises. Because that could be a symptom of a corona infection. The scientist explains whether intensive disinfection of surfaces in one’s own four walls makes sense.
The sudden loss of smell may be a symptom of coronavirus infection. Therefore, anyone who detects such a failure should go to home quarantine. This recommendation is given by virologist Christian Drosten from the Charité in Berlin NDR podcast: “If I suddenly didn’t smell anything in my everyday life, I would stay at home and try to clarify what’s going on with me.” This conclusion is the result of a “very interesting study” from Iran and coincides with observations in coronavirus patients in Germany.
According to Drosten, there is “clear evidence” that there is a connection between impaired sense of smell and infection. The virologist reported an online survey from Iran in which around 15,000 people took part. 10,000 of them reported a complete failure or at least an impairment of the sense of smell, in about three quarters this occurred suddenly and “suddenly” – and around 75 percent had also noticed “influenza-like symptoms”. In the vast majority of cases, the sense of taste was also impaired, according to Drosten.
Disinfecting surfaces at home is hardly worth it
According to the virologist, this coincides with findings from a Munich patient observation, in which almost half of the participants reported problems with smelling and tasting. For Drosten, this is “so remarkable” that he would “write it down in the questionnaire in his own study”. In addition, there are already initial approaches for how the coronavirus hampers the function of the nose. Although the sudden loss of senses is not a clear indication of Sars-CoV-2 disease, Drosten recommends staying in this case for the time being – similar to what is currently being advised for respiratory complaints and fever.
Meanwhile, when staying in your own four walls, Drosten advises against “treating all possible surfaces with disinfectant.” Because: “I am almost certain that it is not worth paying close attention to in the household.” According to experts, it is unlikely that there will be any noteworthy transmissions via surfaces. In hospitals this is of course something else, but in the private living environment this is negligible. “Pictures like those in China, where tank trucks with disinfectants drive through the streets, have more of a psychological effect.”
Virus concentration decreases with the duration of the infection
The current measures are much more about excluding airborne transmission as much as possible. According to Drosten, simple mouth-and-nose masks primarily offer “third-party protection”. Studies have shown “initial evidence” that even simple masks significantly restrict the emission of viruses into the surrounding air. The simple masks, however, do not protect against airborne infections. Drosten considers a general mask requirement anyway difficult to implement in Germany, “where the whole thing is not culturally anchored and not practiced.” In addition, the required number of masks are currently not available.
Drosten also reports another observation made on Sars CoV-2 infected. In three patients, the room air was analyzed over several days. Two of them were at an early stage, one with and one without symptoms. The virus had been detected in both of them in the indoor air. “This is a very interesting and noteworthy finding for me,” said Drosten, because it shows that airborne transmission is possible. In a third patient who had been showing symptoms for nine days, however, the analysis of the indoor air was negative.
An analysis of wiping samples in the hospital rooms also showed something similar: In the “second week, when the patients were still sick, the wiping samples were no longer positive, so there was no more virus on the surfaces.” According to Drosten, this indicates that the number of viruses decreases with increasing duration, even if the symptoms do not yet indicate any alleviation.
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