As researchers continue to learn more about the deadly coronavirus, scientists in China have determined the virus can — and sometimes does — live in patients’ semen.

The findings, released Thursday by the Shanggiu Municipal Hospital, could mean the coronavirus can be transmitted through sex — although doctors say that has yet to be proven. “If it could be proved that the coronavirus can be transmitted sexually, that might be a critical part of the prevention,: researchers wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association . “Especially considering the fact that it was detected in the semen of recovering patients.”

Whether the coronavirus can affect a man’s ability to reproduce also remains unknown, says Sheena Lewis, a professor of reproductive medicine at Queen’s University Belfast. “The long-term effects of the virus on male reproduction are not yet known,” she says.

Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-semen-covid-19-survivors-sexual-transmission/