Study Finds Covid-19 in Semen
Including in patients recovering from the disease
Researchers have identified SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, in the semen of men with the disease.
In a research letter published Thursday in the medical journal JAMA, scientists in China report that among 38 patients who underwent semen testing, six tested positive for the virus. This included two people who were recovering from Covid-19 (the others were in a severe state of infection), which the researchers called “particularly noteworthy.” While the findings are compelling, the researchers acknowledge that the study is very small and more confirmation is needed.
In a statement about the findings, Peter Schlegel, MD, the immediate past-president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine said:
“This is an important new report that gives us more information about the virus that causes COVID disease but should not be a cause for alarm for couples.
The data suggest that the virus can be detected in semen, but that is predominantly when men are actually first infected and ill with the disease. Men who are recovering from infection have much lower rates of having virus in semen. In fact, several prior studies could not detect the virus in semen after known COVID infection.
Based on this new study, it may be wise to avoid sexual contact with men until they are 14 days without symptoms.”
You can read the study below.
