[ad_1]
This article is republished here with permission from The Conversation. This content is shared here because the topic may interest Snopes readers; however, it does not represent the work of Snopes fact checkers or editors.
We don’t know much about SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, but we are learning new things about it every day. The last part of the puzzle comes from a small study conducted in China, which found SARS-CoV-2 RNA (the genetic code for the virus) in the semen of young patients with COVID-19.
The study, published in the JAMA Network Open, involved 38 patients undergoing treatment for severe disease COVID-19 at the Shangqiu Municipal Hospital in Henan Province. Fifteen of the patients provided a semen sample during the acute phase of their illness and 23 shortly after recovery. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was found in semen samples in four of the 15 patients with acute disease and in two of the 23 recovering patients.
These new findings differ from the results of a previous study involving 12 patients with COVID-19 and a case report. However, previous research focused on patients with mild illness after recovery, whereas the current study focused on hospitalized patients with severe illness, and all samples in the latter study were taken during or very soon after illness. the recuperation. In fact, all semen samples that had viral RNA in recovering patients were taken on day two and on day three after recovery. Therefore, the differences between the previous and current studies are likely the result of differences in disease severity and sampling time.
Immune privileged
The testes, along with the eyes, the placenta, the fetus, and the central nervous system, are considered “immune privileged sites,” meaning that they are protected from the severe inflammation associated with an immune response. This is probably an evolutionary adaptation that protects vital structures. So these are niches where viruses can be protected from the host’s immune response.
Immunologically privileged sites caught the eye as places where viruses can persist after recovery from the disease during the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa 2013-16. The Ebola virus remained detectable in the semen of some survivors for more than three years, and transmission of the Ebola virus through sexual intercourse can occur months after the patient has recovered.
We still don’t know what the implications of the latest findings are. The presence of viral RNA in the semen of patients does not necessarily indicate the presence of infectious viruses. Therefore, it will be critical to show whether the infectious virus can also be isolated from the semen of SARS-CoV-2 patients and survivors.
If this is possible, the next question will be whether, as current data suggests, SARS-CoV-2 is predominantly found in the semen of patients with severe disease or if significant levels of virus can also be detected in the semen of patients. with mild illness. disease or, in fact, in the semen of asymptomatic people.
Even if these things are shown, the spread of the virus during an acute infection is probably less of a concern. Given the high spread of SARS-CoV-2 by non-sexual routes, it is difficult to imagine how this could be substantially increased by sexual transmission. The only scenario in which sexual transmission of SARS-CoV-2 could be a problem would be if the virus persisted in the testicles for long periods of time and if COVID-19 survivors could transmit the virus sexually after recovery.
We need more studies to investigate if this is possible. Meanwhile, it would be sensible for those recovering from COVID-19 to use a condom until further research is done to clarify how long the infectious virus remains in semen.
Peter Ellis, professor of molecular biology and reproduction, Kent University; Mark Wass, computational biology reader, Kent Universityand Martin Michaelis, professor of molecular medicine, Kent University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
