Ever wondered if COVID-19 can be transmitted through sex? Well, a study, which was specifically carried out by Chinese researchers state that though the virus can be found in semen but nothing came out clearly if the virus could pass on while having sex.
In semen samples taken from 38 men, doctors detected the virus in six samples. Out of these six coronavirus positive patients, four were still very sick with the disease while two were recovering.
Can Coronavirus spread through sex?
Because the study is not a long-term study; it is still not known that for how long the virus may remain in semen or if men can spread it to their partners during sex. An earlier study was carried out involving 34 Chinese men and the results of both the studies did not match. The earlier study was published last month in the journal Fertility and Sterility. In the study, US and Chinese researchers found no evidence of the virus in semen tested between eight days and almost three months after diagnosis.
Dr John Hotaling of the University of Utah, and co-author of that report, said the new study involved much sicker men, most with active disease. As per current information, the virus spreads from droplets produced when infected people cough, which are inhaled by people nearby.
Some studies have reported finding the virus in blood, feces and tears or other fluid from Covid-19 patients with inflammation in their eyes.
There have been studies that state Ebola and Zika viruses may be transmitted sexually and this led to researchers carrying out a small-scale study for coronavirus. Hotaling said it's an important public health concern but that more research is needed to provide a definitive answer.
The report from Shangqiu Municipal Hospital in China was published in JAMA Network Open.
However, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine said the new study shouldn't be a cause for alarm. Though, it added that social distancing is the norm and it should be practiced everywhere possible. "It is wise to avoid sexual contact with men until they are 14 days without symptoms," Dr. Peter Schlegel, the group's immediate past president, said in a statement.
