The new coronavirus has been found in the semen of infected individuals, according to Chinese researchers, raising the prospect that the virus could be sexually transmitted, the wall street journal reports.
Patients in China who donated samples several days after their virus symptoms had faded were found to show evidence of Covid-19.
One of the patients in the study, at Shangqui Municipal Hospital in Henan Province, tested positive for Covid-19 in his semen 16 days after coming down with the virus and three days after clinical recovery.
“Abstinence or condom use might be considered as preventative means for these patients,” the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, said.
Public health officials earlier warned people not to have sex if they have symptoms of coronavirus, but this was to avoid transmission via droplets coming out of infected people’s noses and mouths and entering bodies of other people via their mouths, noses or eyes.
However, the result of the new research has led officials to believe that the virus could also be transmitted via the semen.
