LIVE SCIENCE - May 7, 2020 | After the new coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2 enters the human body, it seems to reach sites well beyond the lungs — it's been found in the kidneys, heart, liver and gastrointestinal tract. And now, researchers have detected the virus in semen, according to a small study.
However, the findings, published Thursday (May 7) in the journal JAMA Network Open, don't necessarily mean that the virus can be sexually transmitted through contact with semen.
The study involved 38 men in Shangqiu, China, who had tested positive for COVID-19 and were experiencing symptoms of the disease or had recently recovered. Participants provided semen samples, which doctors analyzed for the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
The researchers detected SARS-CoV-2 in sperm from six participants, or 16% overall. Of these, four patients were currently experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, and two patients had recently recovered.
