Chinese experts who have studied the sperm of men infected with Covid-19, found that in sperm from a smaller part of the observed patients a new type of coronavirus. This finding opens a small probability that the disease can be transmitted sexually, scientists say.
a Study conducted by Chinese doctors in Shangqiu city hospital for 38 men were hospitalized with the disease, showed that the semen from six of them (16%) were detected positive for Sars-CoV 2.
according to the Guardian, the researchers argues that, although the results are preliminary and based only on the study of a small number of infected men, more research is needed to see whether the sexual transmission play a role in the spread of the pandemic Covid-19.
“further research is Needed in relation to information on the allocation of the virus, survival time and concentration in semen,” wrote a team of researchers in the material published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
“If it were possible to prove that Sars-CoV-2 can be transmitted sexually … [it] may be a critical part of prevention,” the authors of the research, “especially given the fact that Sars-CoV-2 was detected in the semen of convalescent patients.”
Independent experts believe that the results of the observations are of interest, but should be treated with caution and in the context of other small studies in which sperm was not detected a new coronavirus.
a Previous small study of 12 patients with Covid-19, held in China in February and March, showed that they were negative for the coronavirus in samples of sperm.
Professor of andrology at the University of Sheffield (UK), Allan Pacey believes that the above study should not be regarded as final, as there were some technical difficulties during testing of sperm for viruses. He said that the presence of coronavirus in the semen is not showing whether it is active and able to cause infection.
“However, we should not be surprised if the virus that causes Covid-19 detected in the semen of some men as it was seen in many other viruses such as Ebola and Zeke,” said the Professor.
for his part, Professor of reproductive medicine at Queen’s University in Belfast, Sheena Lewis stressed that this “very little research” and the results are consistent with other small studies showing low levels or absence of coronavirus in tests of semen samples.
“nevertheless, the long-term effects of Sars-CoV-2 on reproduction in men is not yet known,” she said.
