Virus that causes COVID-19 can remain in sperm for 110 days after infection: Study

Researchers at the University of Sao Paulo (USP) in Brazil have shown for the first time that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can remain in the sperm of patients for up to 90 days after hospital discharge and up to 110 days after the initial infection, reducing semen quality.

The study was published in the journal Andrology.

More than four years after the start of the pandemic, researchers know that SARS-CoV-2 is able to invade and destroy several types of human cells and tissue, including the reproductive system. Although scientists have noted that the virus is more aggressive than other viruses toward the male genital tract, and autopsies have found it in testicles, it has rarely been detected in semen by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis, which focuses on viral DNA.

To understand this, the study used real-time PCR and transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) to detect viral RNA in semen and spermatozoa donated by men who were recovering from COVID-19.

For the study, semen samples were taken from 13 patients, aged 21 to 50, who had experienced mild, moderate, or severe COVID-19 and had been admitted to Hospitals.

The analysis was conducted up to 90 days after discharge and 110 days after diagnosis. Although PCR test results were negative for SARS-CoV-2 in the semen, the virus was detected in the sperm of eight out of 11 moderate to severe COVID-19 patients (72.7%) within 90 days of discharge, suggesting it could be present for even longer. SARS-CoV-2 was also detected in one patient with mild COVID-19.

Overall, the virus was found in the sperm of nine out of the 13 patients (69.2%). Additionally, two other patients exhibited ultrastructural gamete impairment similar to that seen in COVID-19 patients. The authors concluded that 11 of the patients had the virus in their sperm.

“Moreover, we found that the sperm produced ‘extracellular traps’ based on nuclear DNA. In other words, the genetic material in the nucleus decondensed, the sperms’ cell membranes ruptured, and the DNA was expelled into the extracellular medium, forming networks similar to those described previously in the systemic inflammatory response to SARS-CoV-2,” said Jorge Hallak, corresponding author of the article.

Reference: Hallak J, Caldini EG, Teixeira TA, et al. Transmission electron microscopy reveals the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in human spermatozoa associated with an ETosis-like response. Andrology. 2024; 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1111/andr.13612