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Coronavirus May Linger in Semen, Chinese Study Finds

Researchers detected the genetic material of the coronavirus in semen, however the study did not show that it could be sexually transmitted.

Researchers in China have discovered remnants of the coronavirus in semen samples from six male patients, according to a study released Thursday. Since the virus first emerged, doctors have unanimously agreed that it could not be transmitted sexually and the report, published in the JAMA Network Open medical journal, does not refute that conclusion. “This is an interesting finding, but it must be confirmed that there is infectious virus—not just a virus product in the semen,” Dr. Stanley Perlman, a professor at the University of Iowa, told The New York Times. If there was evidence that the infectious virus could live in semen, it would create the possibility of transmission through oral sex. Public health experts have maintained that the main way the virus spreads from person to person is through respiratory droplets, and it can also live on some surfaces. The study involved 38 coronavirus patients, aged 15 to 59, at Shangqiu Municipal Hospital in Henan Province.