Listen to this articleA brand new examine from Chinese scientists discovered coronavirus particles in the semen of 16% of the male sufferers studied. The analysis which was revealed on Thursday now opens the likelihood the illness could possibly be transmitted sexually.
Doctors at China’s Shangqiu Municipal Hospital took samples from 38 males who had been hospitalized with the lethal virus and located that six of them examined optimistic for the virus in their semen.
“If it could be proved that [the coronavirus] can be transmitted sexually … that might be a critical part of the prevention,” the workforce of researchers wrote in a study revealed in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
“Especially considering the fact that [it] was detected in the semen of recovering patients.”
However, the researchers warned that the examine was not massive sufficient and that extra analysis is required.
“Further studies are required with respect to the detailed information about virus shedding, survival time and concentration in semen,” the workforce wrote.
The analysis, which centered on males aged 16 or older between Jan. 26 and Feb. 16, displays solely a small likelihood that the virus may be transmitted sexually — however it’s not unusual, specialists mentioned.
“We should not be surprised if the virus which causes COVID-19 is found in the semen of some men, since this has been shown with many other viruses such as Ebola and Zika,” Allan Pacey, a professor of andrology at Britain’s Sheffield University, informed Reuters.
Sheena Lewis, a professor of reproductive drugs at Queen’s University Belfast, added, “The long-term effects of [the virus] on male reproduction are not yet known.”
A previous study discovered that of 12 coronavirus sufferers in China, none of their semen examined optimistic.
The six who examined optimistic ranged in age from their 20s to their 50s.
“There was no significant difference between negative and positive test results for patients by age, urogenital disease history, days since onset, days since hospitalization, or days since clinical recovery,” the examine authors wrote.
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