Never in the world of Health would one imagine that COVID-19 will have HIV/AIDS like characteristics that would scare the shut to of people’s sexual lives. New findings have revealed that the deadly virus can be transmitted sexually, even after the infected person has healed from the disease. Chinese researchers have revealed that the virus can be found in semen even after the patients have recovered from it.
Between January and February,a team at Shangqiu Municipal Hospital tested 38 male patients treated there at the height of the pandemic in China. Of this number 16% of them had evidence of the coronavirus in their semen. About a quarter of them were in the acute stage of infection and nearly 9% of them were recovering.
“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. Even if the virus cannot replicate in the male reproductive system, it may persist, possibly resulting from the privileged immunity of testes,” said a senior official in the Hospital.
According to the researchers, privileged immunity means cannot fully attack viral invaders, and many viruses can live in the male reproductive tract.
“Abstinence or condom use might be considered as preventive means for these patients. In addition, it is worth noting that there is a need for studies monitoring fetal development. 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,” the team advised.
