Coronavirus could be sexually transmitted, new study says

(WTVO) — Scientists have found traces of the coronavirus in the semen of severely infected men, which raises the possibility that the virus could be sexually transmitted.

According to CBS News, researchers found evidence of the virus in six men out of a group of 38 patients at a hospital in China.

Four of the six were still infected and two were recovering, according to the report.

Dr. Ryan Berglund, a urologist with Cleveland Clinic’s Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, said the virus has also been found in stool and other body fluids.

Chinese researchers said 27 different viruses have been detected in human semen, and Berglund says the find does not mean conclusively that COVID-19 can be transmitted sexually.

Another study from China found no traces of coronavirus in the semen of 34 men who had mild to moderate cases of COVID-19.

“We know the virus is transmitted efficiently through the respiratory route and we have not seen any documented cases of sexual transmission, therefore this may not necessarily represent proof of sexual transmissibility (sic) via the male genital tract,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, senior scholar with Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore.

Dr. Greg Poland, director of the Vaccine Research Group at the Mayo Clinic said the new study relies on testing that only detects traces of genetic material from the coronavirus.

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