Acute respiratory viruses (ARVs) are the leading cause of diseases in humans worldwide. High-risk individuals, including children and the elderly, could potentially develop severe illnesses that could result in hospitalization or death in the worst case. The most common ARVs are the Human respiratory syncytial virus, Human Metapneumovirus, Human Parainfluenza Virus, rhinovirus, coronaviruses (including SARS and MERS CoV), adenoviruses, Human Bocavirus, enterovirus (-D68 and 71), and influenza viruses. The olfactory deficits due to ARV infection are a common symptom among patients. This review provides an overview of the role of SARS-CoV-2 and other common ARVs in the development of human olfactory pathophysiology. We highlight the critical need to understand the signaling underlying the olfactory dysfunction and the development of therapeutics for this wide-ranging category of AVRs to restore the altered or loss of smell in affected patients.
Keywords: COVID-19; anosmia; loss of smell; olfaction disorders; respiratory viruses.