Scientists Find Coronavirus In Sperm: Does This Mean You Shouldn't Have Sex?
The researchers collected semen samples of 38 men who were hospitalised with the novel coronavirus. Out of the 38, they found six to have tested positive for the virus in their semen. These six fit in the age gap between 20-50 years.
Today, we¡¯re all geared up with hand sanitizers, home-made face masks to prevent the entry of the COVID-19 into our body.
We¡¯re maintaining social distancing by staying locked indoors and are not allowing anyone else to enter our homes or even building premises, keeping our guards up.
Reuters
However, now a new study has made a shocking revelation. Researchers have discovered semen to consist of COVID-19 particles, signalling that lovemaking between couples could get problematic.
This is according to a study (published in the Journal of the American Medical Association) conducted by Chinese scientists at Shangqiu Municipal Hospital.
The researchers collected semen samples of 38 men who were hospitalised with the novel coronavirus. Out of 38 tested, they found six to have tested positive for the virus in their semen. These six fit in the age gap between 20-50 years.
Researchers stated in their study, ¡°If it could be proved that [the coronavirus] can be transmitted sexually ¡ that might be a critical part of the prevention, especially considering the fact that it was detected in the semen of recovering patients.¡±
This doesn't mean you should stop having sex (yet)
This surely sounds scary, but it seems that we don¡¯t need to take such ¡®extreme¡¯ measures yet. The researchers claim that the study needs to involve more people and an in-depth approach to get a definitive answer, stating, ¡°Further studies are required with respect to the detailed information about virus shedding, survival time and concentration in semen.¡±
Reuters
Another study a while back, looked at semen samples of 12 patients infected with COVID-19 but found no traces of it there. While this might sound like good news now, the trend of viruses spreading through semen isn¡¯t uncommon.
Allan Pacey, a Professor of Andrology at Britain¡¯s Sheffield University, said in a conversation with Reuters, ¡°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.¡±
As always it is best to use condoms to be safe from contracting not just COVID-19, but any kinds of STDs.
