2020 was not a lucky year for China or the world. Natural disasters and man-made calamities struck one after another, but the most memorable of all was the novel coronavirus.
The novel coronavirus is mainly transmitted through droplets, bodily fluids, and excrement, expelling a large number of infectious viruses from the body and infecting the next host.
This process requires close contact between the old and new hosts.
Can semen contain the novel coronavirus?
Does semen, as a rather special bodily fluid, also have the ability to transmit viruses? Recent studies suggest that sexual intercourse may be safe.
Researchers followed up with 34 male patients diagnosed with mild to moderate COVID-19 and analyzed their semen samples one month later.
Laboratory tests did not detect the presence of coronavirus in semen. Similarly, no trace of the virus was found in male testes.
This research was published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, and this discovery is of great significance.
If the novel coronavirus can be transmitted sexually, disease control measures will change and have serious consequences for men's long-term reproductive health.
While this small study suggests that the coronavirus is unlikely to be sexually transmitted, it is not comprehensive enough to completely rule out this possibility.
The small sample size was not the only drawback of the study, as it only included patients with mild to moderate symptoms and did not involve patients with severe symptoms.
Because critically ill men may have higher viral loads, this could lead to the virus entering their semen and increasing the likelihood of transmission to others during sexual activity. However, there is currently insufficient evidence to support this view.
However, the absence of the virus in the semen of patients with mild to moderate symptoms is a reassuring result. This may indicate that the virus has spared this organ or system.
However, previous studies have shown that SARS virus infection may cause orchitis, damage to seminiferous tubules, and impaired fertility.
Based on this, it is speculated that the novel coronavirus may also impair male fertility.
Therefore, in the absence of sufficient research evidence, patients who have had COVID-19 should be wary of the virus's impact on the reproductive system.
If you unfortunately contract the virus, it is still recommended to have a semen analysis after recovery. Only by ensuring the quality of the sperm can you confidently proceed with conception.
However, the temporary safety of semen in patients with mild to moderate symptoms does not mean that intercourse will not transmit the virus.
Do you only have physical contact between your genitals during sex? No kissing? No hugging? Do you completely ignore these intimate gestures? The answer is "impossible."
Therefore, the safety of semen alone cannot eliminate the possibility of virus transmission through sexual intercourse.
Moreover, once the virus infection is actually diagnosed, I don't think anyone will still be thinking about sex or risking infecting their partner by exercising.
Semen is like a "bus" carrying viruses.
Normal semen is a viscous liquid mixture composed of sperm and seminal plasma.
Sperm are what we call reproductive cells. Seminal plasma is a mixture of secretions from accessory glands such as the prostate gland, seminal vesicles, and bulbourethral glands.
Semen, as a good carrier, is like a bus that carries many passengers. Just because the coronavirus didn't buy a ticket doesn't mean other viruses can't get on the bus.
A 2017 study by Atkinson et al. showed that human semen contains 27 viruses.
The most important thing to pay attention to is:
HIV and cytomegalovirus can cause chronic or latent infections; Lassa fever, Rift Valley fever, and chikungunya virus can cause acute infections, etc.
The presence of viruses in semen or testicular tissue not only increases the likelihood of developing sexually transmitted diseases, but may also lead to complications such as embryonic infection, congenital diseases, miscarriage, and reduced male fertility.
In addition, viruses can be passed on to offspring through germ cells, increasing the risk of various diseases, such as cancer.
While it remains to be confirmed whether most viruses can be transmitted through semen, these studies have already shown that semen and testicles are not entirely safe.
Among sexually transmitted diseases, hepatitis B virus and HIV are the most common and well-known. These viruses are highly contagious; if one person contracts the disease, the whole family suffers, especially if family members did not take protective measures or the person was unaware of their infection.
These viruses can be silently transmitted to a partner through sexual intercourse, and then passed on to offspring through reproduction.
Semen is not as safe as you might think; it may simply be a bunch of happy reproductive cells waiting to mate with an egg.
It is possible that it has already been infected and turned into a means of transporting the virus. Therefore, if you know that you are infected, avoiding sexual intercourse or having sexual intercourse with protection is a responsible attitude towards each other and society.
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