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Coronavirus could be transmitted through sexual intercourse, a new study has found, prompting fears of a new way the disease could be spread.
The virus was found in the semen of a small number of men who had tested positive for Covid-19 at a hospital in China. Doctors at China’s Shangqiu municipal hospital analyzed the sperm of 38 men and found SARS-CoV-2 in some of their semen.
The study was based on a small sample size so more work would need to be done to establish if coronavirus can be sexually transmitted. If true, this would be a worrying development because it means the disease could be transmitted human-to-human beyond just respiratory droplets and contact.
However the results are at odds with other small studies, also conducted in China, in February and March, which did not find traces of the disease in the semen of men who had tested positive for coronavirus.
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The research, which was published on Thursday on the international peer-reviewed general medical journal JAMA Network. It showed: “We found that SARS-CoV-2 can be present in the semen of patients with Covid-19, and SARS-CoV-2 may still be detected in the semen of recovering patients.
“This study is limited by the small sample size and the short subsequent follow-up. Therefore, further studies are required with respect to the detailed information about virus shedding, survival time, and concentration in semen.”
A total of 50 patients were identified for the study which reported that 12 were unable to provide a semen specimen because of erectile dysfunction, being in a comatose state, or dying prior to recruitment.
The results showed a total of 38 patients were enrolled for semen testing. Of these, 23 participants (60.5%) had recovered and 15 (39.5%) were at the acute stage of infection. Tests found that 6 patients (15.8%) had positive results for SARS-CoV-2, including 4 of 15 patients (26.7%) who were at the acute stage of infection, and crucially 2 of 23 patients (8.7%) who were recovering, which the study warns is “particularly noteworthy.”
“ To avoid contact with the patient’s saliva and blood may not be enough, since the survival of SARS-CoV-2 in a recovering patient’s semen maintains the likelihood to infect others ”
“If it could be proved that SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted sexually in future studies, sexual transmission might be a critical part of the prevention of transmission, especially considering the fact that SARS-CoV-2 was detected in the semen of recovering patients,” the report said. “Therefore, to avoid contact with the patient’s saliva and blood may not be enough, since the survival of SARS-CoV-2 in a recovering patient’s semen maintains the likelihood to infect others.”
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