Chinese researchers have detected traces of the coronavirus in the sperm of people infected with Covid-19. What does this discovery mean?
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We now know that Covid-19 coronavirus is mainly transmitted by the projection of droplets. What if it could also be transmitted sexually? Researchers from Shangqiu Municipal Hospital (China) found that the semen of men who contracted the disease contained traces of the virus. These lasted even after the patients went into remission, according to their results published in the Journal of American Medical Association this Thursday, April 8.
The team tested 38 patients at the height of the pandemic in China – in January and February. On 15 patients suffering from severe manifestations of Covid-19, four of them (25.6%) had traces of SARS-CoV-2 in their seminal secretions. So far, it has only been found in saliva, urine and stool. The samples of two other men (8.7%), tested three days after the disappearance of their symptoms, were also found to be positive.
Even if the virus cannot replicate in the male reproductive system, it can persist, perhaps because of the privileged immunity of the testes (where the immune system cannot completely reach the region to attack viral loads, editor’s note ), the researchers said.
Avenues for understanding the coronavirus
These observations came as no surprise to scientists. Before the onset of this new virus, several infectious agents have already been found in the sperm of contaminated men, such asEbola, of Zika see you again chikungunya.
However, this study is “Limited by the small sample size”, as the researchers write. Otherwise, only patients with severe symptoms have been tested. What about asymptomatic ones? How long can microscopic infectious particles survive in sperm? These questions remain unanswered for the moment. This new research still provides leads for a better understanding of the virus.
If it could be proven that SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted sexually in future studies, sexual transmission could be a essential element of prevention. Abstinence or the use of condoms could be considered as preventive means, concluded the Chinese team.
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