In a previous report from Science Times, one research found that testicles are serving as reservoirs for coronavirus, making them more at risk of a longer and severe case of COVID-19. Recently, a new study conducted in China looked at semen samples of 38 men with COVID-19 and found that some have recovered, but others were infectious.

According to researchers in China, one in six men had traces of the coronavirus in their semen, including those who already recovered. This raises some concerns with experts as coronavirus may be sexually transmitted, but it warrants more research to be proven.

The findings warn people that abstaining from sex while infected and during recovery would likely be a wise decision until further study is conducted. The study does not prove that coronavirus could be transmitted sexually, but it only suggested that it was a possibility.

At present, 3.8 million cases of COVID-19 are recorded globally, although this might not fully represent the whole population of infected cases, including those with mild cases who recovered at home but not tested.

Results of Semen Testing Found Positive Results of SARS-CoV-2

The new research was conducted at the Shangqiu Municipal Hospital in Shangqiu, Henan Province. Their participants included men aged 15 years and older who tested positive for coronavirus between January 26 and February 16.

Among the 38 men, 15 or 39.5% of them were in the acute stage of infection, and the rest had recovered, reported by MailOnline.

In a research paper recently published in the journal JAMA, six patients or 15.8% had results positive for SARS-CoV-2 after the semen testing; and a quarter of those who were still infectious have the virus in their semen.

But what surprised the researchers the most was that 8.7% of those men who recovered from the disease had traces of the virus in their semen. Scientists could not find any obvious trends in the men whose sample contained the virus.

They ranged from their 20s to 50s, while three of them had an underlying health condition, and their symptoms started between 6 and 16 days before giving their semen samples.

But there is no follow-up conducted with these men to see if the virus survived for long periods in their semen and if it was viable.

Coronavirus May One Day Become Sexually Transmitted

According to the lead author of the paper, Dr. Diangeng Li of the Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, in Beijing, he and his colleagues suggested that the coronavirus may one day be found to be sexually transmitted. If that happens, it might be a critical part of the prevention of transmission.

Abstinence and use of a condom might be considered as preventive measures even if the virus cannot replicate in the male reproductive system; it may still persist.

Although it is still uncertain whether the SARS-CoV-2 virus found in the semen contributes to infection rates, this study indicates a real possibility that is the case.

Professor Richard Sharpe, MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, University of Edinburgh, said: "This finding raises the possibility that COVID-19 might also be transmissible via semen (and thus via sexual contact), perhaps including during the recovery phase - which would have disease management implications."

However, this findings should not be a surprise as this has also been shown with many other viruses such as Ebola and Zika, as the latter can spread through sex and can stay in semen longer than in other body fluids, according to the World Health Organization.