[ad_1]
A study by doctors at the Shangqiu Municipal Hospital in China investigated 38 male patients hospitalized with Covid-19. They concluded that of this total, six infected (16 percent) tested positive for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in their sperm.
Furthermore, the study also reveals that in this test, four of the 15 patients who were in the acute phase of the infection tested positive, as well as two of the 23 infected people who were already recovering.
The findings raise the possibility of sexual transmission of Covid-19. However, the researchers note that since the study is preliminary and based on a small sample of infected people, more research is needed to prove it.
“Further studies with detailed information on virus spread, survival time, and semen concentration are needed.“The research team wrote in the study published Thursday in Journal of the American Medical Association.
“If it is possible to demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted sexually, [isso] it can be a critical part of prevention, “the researchers add,” especially given the fact that SARS-CoV-2 was detected in the semen of recovering patients. ”
Independent experts acknowledge the importance of these conclusions, but stress that great caution is necessary, bearing in mind that other studies in this context have not reached the same conclusions.
Similar studies with negative results.
The possibility of sexual transmission of Covid-19 had already been the subject of other studies. As Sheena Lewis, professor of reproductive medicine at Queen’s University in Belfast explains: This is a “very small study” and its findings are in line with other small studies showing a reduced or even no presence of SARS-CoV-2 in semen sample tests.
“However, the long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 on male reproduction are not yet known,” Lewis concluded. A small study also conducted in China investigated 12 patients between February and March and concluded that all were negative for the presence of the new coronavirus in semen samples.
Allan Pacey, professor of andrology at the University of Sheffield, UK, believes that these studies should not be considered conclusive as there were some technical difficulties in conducting the tests. He argues that These tests do not conclude if the presence of the new coronavirus in the sperm is capable of causing infection.
Furthermore, Pacey says that if the conclusions of this study are confirmed, they are not unexpected: “We should not be surprised if the virus that causes Covid-19 is found in the semen of some men, as has been shown with many other viruses, such as the Ebola and Zika. ”
with agencies
