There Is No Strong Evidence That Sexual Intercourse Can Transmit COVID-19 Through Sperm

Ilustrasi (Photo: Filipe Almeida, Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Recent research has revealed that the COVID-19 virus can survive in semen or sperm fluid. Then, whether or not the corona virus is transmitted through sexual contact is also questionable.

Sexologist Haekal Anshari confirmed reports that the SARS Cov-2 or COVID-19 virus was found in sperm fluid and the virus found contained genetic material. However, he said, there was no strong evidence that the corona virus could be transmitted through sexual contact

"We still need further research to determine the extent to which the SARS Cov-2 virus in sperm fluids can transmit to other people through sexual intercourse," said Haekal when confirmed by VOI, Monday, May 11.

Moreover, said Haekal, the number of samples of male sperm fluid that was studied and showed the presence of the corona virus was not yet strong enough to represent the male population at large in the world.

What is clear, said Haikal, is that the risk of transmitting COVID-19 greatly increases when a partner kisses because of the transmission of saliva or saliva.

Because, the transmission of the corona virus is currently mainly transmitted through droplets released when coughing or sneezing. In fact, transmission can also be through hand touch. Our hands can be contaminated by viruses on the surface of objects, if they have not been washed and they directly touch the face.

"When having sexual intercourse, there must be contact with infectious droplets not only because of the close distance during sexual intercourse," he said.

The New York Times reported that the latest fact comes from researchers in China. They tested the semen of 38 patients at the Shangqiu City Hospital (RS), Henan. All subjects were taken from people who tested positive for the corona and were between the ages of 15 and 59 years.

As a result, researchers detected about 16 percent of the genetic material for the corona virus in six patients. Meanwhile the four patients whose semen tested positive were in the acute infection stage, said Doctor Weiguo Zhao from the Eighth Medical Center of the Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital in Beijing and Doctor Shixi Zhang from the Shangqiu City Hospital.

Meanwhile, two more people are currently recovering. When tested, one patient even had 16 days since first showing symptoms of COVID-19.

Since the beginning of the outbreak, public health experts have warned that the corona virus can be transmitted through kissing. But they don't believe the virus can be sexually transmitted.

Fortunately, recent research has not contradicted this. The research was published on Thursday by the JAMA Network Open, a free-access medical journal. This research does not prove that the corona virus can be transmitted through sexual activity.