While it is known that the COVID-19 virus can be transmitted through the respiratory system, scientists have discovered another way in which the disease may enter human bodies.
According to a Reuters report, Chinese researchers have found several men infected with COVID-19 had the virus in their semen.
This discovery opens up a disturbing new possibility that the COVID-19 virus could be transmitted sexually.
The study, which was conducted on 38 men who were admitted at the Shangqiu Municipal Hospital in China found that six of them, or around 16 per cent, had the virus in their semen.
However, the Chinese scientists have also said that more research is needed to establish beyond doubt that the COVID-19 virus may be spread via sexual transmission.
“Further studies are required with respect to the detailed information about virus shedding, survival time and concentration in semen,” the team wrote in a study published in JAMA Network Open.
A similar research, which was conducted in China in February and March, had found that all members of a group of 12 COVID-19 patients did not have the virus in their semen samples.
Allan Pacey, a professor of andrology at Britain’s Sheffield University, opined that although the study is not conclusive, previous virus epidemics have shown the ability to be transmitted through semen.
“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,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters.
