300,000 Swedes have impaired sense of smell due to virus: Report

STOCKHOLM • An estimated 300,000 Swedes suffer from an impaired sense of smell due to Covid-19, a news report said.

Swedish national TT News Agency reported on Sunday that there are long queues for clinics that offer treatment for the loss of smell in the country.

With around 10 million residents, Sweden has only two such clinics, with the second one opening in September at Karolinska University Hospital in Huddinge, near the capital Stockholm.

"We get patients from all over Sweden. I'm contacted from all sides," Ms Charlotte Cervin-Hoberg, a biomedical analyst at Lund University, was reported in Norway Today as saying.

The clinics used to treat loss of smell due to other causes, including infections, head injuries and neurological diseases, but most people seeking help now are Covid-19 patients.

Those previously infected with Covid-19 have also reportedly experienced a distorted sense of smell and taste.

Ms Eva Hoglund, who was infected with the virus in April last year, told Norway Today that other than vanilla ice cream, most things taste and smell like cigarette butts or rotten meat to her.

"I look at strawberries, but they smell so bad that I almost throw up," she said.

Nearly 1.166 million coronavirus cases had been confirmed since the pandemic started. The total number of deaths was approaching 15,000, according to the latest statistic by Swedish Public Health Agency on Friday.

The country has seen a slight increase in the number of new cases since the restrictions, such as limiting participants in public spaces and restaurants, were lifted on Sept 30 together with the advice to wear face masks.

But the rules about testing are still in force, although these will be relaxed on Nov 1.

Meanwhile, 84.7 per cent of the population aged 16 and older had received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 80.1 per cent had received two doses.

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