Researchers advise abstinence as new study reveals COVID-19 could be s*xually transmitted

A new study conducted in China has found Sars-CoV-2 RNA (Covid-19) in the semen of young coronavirus patients, JAMA Network Open, an American medical journal has revealed.

Researchers at the Shangqiu Municipal Hospital in Henan province of China were said to have collected semen sample from 38 covid-19 patients undergoing treatment in the facility.

At least 4 patients at the acute stages of the disease and 2 recovering patients reportedly had SARS-CoV-2 RNA in their semen samples.

With the new findings, researchers are worried the virus could be sexually transmitted and are advising patients to avoid intercourse or use protection, until the recovery phase was fully over.

“Abstinence or condom use might be considered as preventative means for these patients,” the study suggested.

“Even if the virus cannot replicate in the male reproductive system it may persist, possibly resulting from the privileged immunity of testes,” the study further revealed

Speaking on the findings, a professor from the MRC Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh, Richard Sharpe said: “As the authors point out, this finding raises the possibility that Covid-19 might also be transmissible via semen – and thus via sexual contact – perhaps including during the recovery phase, which would have disease management implications.

“Whilst this is a small study, that leaves many important questions unanswered – how long after Covid-19 infection does detectable virus persist in semen in those with a semen-positive result?

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“It suggests that obtaining answers to such questions should be an additional priority considering our global need to understand the dynamics of person-to-person transmission of Covid-19.”

Although, initial studies had earlier negated the possibility of a s*xual transmission, researchers believe the results of the new findings were affected more by differences in disease severity and the time of sampling.

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