You know how every time we think we know something about coronavirus it turns out that we might have been completely wrong and actually no one knows anything and we’re all doomed? (Exhibit A: Back in February we didn’t think people should be wearing masks. Oops.) Well that may have just happened again.
Despite a study last month suggesting COVID-19 is not sexually transmitted after researchers found no trace of the virus in semen samples from patients, a new study suggests pretty much the exact opposite. The new study, published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that semen samples did in fact contain traces of COVID-19. According to Insider, experts are now warning those who have had coronavirus to abstain from sex for 30 days after recovery as a precaution.
The study analyzed semen samples from 38 male patients with COVID-19 in China’s Henan province, finding traces of the virus in 16 percent of the samples. (The previous study, published last month in the journal Fertility and Sterility, found no evidence of COVID-19 in the semen of 34 Chinese men who tested positive for the virus.)
While the researchers in the most recent study noted that the presence of the virus in semen doesn’t necessarily mean COVID-19 can be sexually transmitted, they’re still advising patients to take precautions.
“The presence of viruses in semen may be more common than currently understood, and traditional nonsexually transmitted viruses should not be assumed to be totally absent in genital secretions,” the study’s authors wrote.
The authors also suggested that the virus may have entered the semen via the bloodstream, rather than been replicated in the testicles.
In the meantime, the experts suggest waiting 30 days after recovering from the virus before having sex, and to use a condom once you do hop back in the sack. Better safe than sorry.
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