It’s extremely not likely that the coronavirus spreads entirely through sexual contact, according to a new study that discovered no trace of the infection that causes COVID-19 in the semen or testes of positive patients.
Scientists at the University of Utah and Huazhong University of Science and Innovation in Wuhan, China, would like to know whether the novel coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2, can be sexually sent like the Ebola and Zika infections.
They examined semen samples from 34 Chinese men that were collected around one month after they were detected with moderate or moderate types of COVID-19
The virus couldn’t be identified in the semen samples, suggesting that the coronavirus can not be sexually transferred.
This was a rather little study, however regardless of the minimal findings, it does appear highly not likely to pass on the infection entirely through intercourse.
” The truth that in this little, initial study that it appears the virus that causes COVID-19 does not appear in the testes or semen could be an important finding,” says James M. Hotaling, co-author of the research study and associate teacher of urology specializing in male fertility at the University of Utah. “If an illness like COVID-19 were sexually transmittable that would have significant ramifications for disease avoidance and could have major consequences for a man’s long-lasting reproductive health.”
Next, the scientists would like to know whether the virus might infect the testes too.
“If the virus remains in the testes but not the sperm it can’t be sexually transmitted,” says Jingtao Guo, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher at the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah who likewise co-authored the study. “However if it remains in the testes, it can trigger long-lasting damage to semen and sperm production.”
The researchers relied on a comprehensive hereditary dataset, which permitted them to zoom in on mRNA, the hereditary material that instructs protein synthesis, from testicular cells.
Countless studies have formerly revealed that the coronavirus is connected with the expression of two crucial genes, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2). These genes serve as receptors for the virus, enabling it to infect and reproduce within cells.
It’s important that both receptors are present in the cell for the coronavirus to contaminate it.
This study does not totally dismiss the possibility that the coronavirus can be sexually sent. The sample size is too small to draw definite conclusions and the study did not include clients with extreme types of the disease.
” It could be that a guy who is critically ill with COVID-19 may have a higher viral load, which might cause a greater likelihood of infecting the semen. We just do not have the response to that right now,” Hotaling states. “However knowing that we didn’t discover that type of activity amongst the patients in this study who were recuperating from moderate to moderate kinds of the disease is assuring.”
What includes self-confidence, though, is the truth that this is the 2nd research study of its kind. It confirms the findings of another smaller research study, likewise from China, that included 12 clients in recovery and one who passed away of COVID-19 Semen samples and testicular biopsies likewise revealed no sign of the infection.
Sex is extremely intimate, so although the infection might not spread through intercourse, it can easily contaminate individuals through kissing and other kinds of contact with respiratory fluids. Many individuals with COVID-19 are also asymptomatic. If you’re scared a partner might have been contaminated, it’s just safer to give up sex for a while.
