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Losing your sense of smell will be familiar to anyone who has ever had a cold - but have you ever lost your sense of taste completely?

Health officials are now telling people to look out for a loss of smell and taste, as it it believed to be a symptom of coronavirus.

And it appears this unusual symptom may affect young people who may not show other signs of the virus, including a cough and high temperature.

The symptom has been so severe for some, they've been able to eat a spoonful of curry powder and whole garlic cloves without tasting it.

Chronicle Live reports the loss of taste and smell - known as anosmia - is believed to be a symptom of "hidden carriers" so it's extremely important to follow guidance and stay inside to isolate if you experience it, to protect others.

Professor Nirmal Kumar, head of ENT UK - a professional body representing Ear, Nose and Throat surgery, has urged Britons to self-isolate if they have this symptom.

He told Sky News: "In young patients, they do not have any significant symptoms such as the cough and fever, but they may have just the loss of sense of smell and taste, which suggests that these viruses are lodging in the nose."

n a statement, ENT UK said: “There is already good evidence from South Korea, China and Italy that significant numbers of patients with proven covid-19 infection have developed anosmia/hyposmia (loss of sense of smell).

“There have been a rapidly growing number of reports of a significant increase in the number of patients presenting with anosmia in the absence of other symptoms – this has been widely shared on medical discussion boards by surgeons from all regions managing a high incidence of cases.”

Approximately a third of patients who have tested positive in South Korea, China and Italy reported experiencing a loss of smell.

It's something many people have taken to Twitter to share, with some people saying they haven't been able to taste or smell anything at all.

Policy Correspondent at The Indepent Jon Stone posted on Twitter to say he even put his senses to the test, by eating a teaspoon of curry powder and a clove of garlic - adding they didn't taste of anything at all.

So far, 1,019 people in the UK have died from coronavirus, latest figures reveal.

In Bristol, there are now 65 confirmed cases as well as a further 49 in South Gloucestershire, 31 in North Somerset and 31 in Bath and North East Somerset.