Having Covid-19 can affect male fertility for weeks after recovering from the illness, according to a new study examining sperm quality in patients with symptomatic Covid-19 infection.
This study, conducted in Belgium, took semen samples from 120 Belgian men with an average age of 35 within an average of 52 days after their Covid-19 symptoms resolved. As a result, semen samples taken from 35 men within a month of recovery showed a 60% decrease in sperm motility and a 37% decrease in sperm count.
Samples from 51 patients taken one to two months after recovery showed 37% had decreased sperm motility and 29% had low sperm count, which further decreased to 28% and 6% after less motility. at least two months have passed.
As such, over time since recovery from Covid-19 has increased, the quality of sperm has also improved. According to this study, the phenomenon of affecting sperm DNA mostly occurs in the first month after infection. A quarter of study participants had normal sperm parameters while 25.4% had two abnormal parameters.
However, about 53 days after being diagnosed with the virus, sperm PCR tests failed to detect SARS-CoV-2 virus RNA in any of the 120 volunteers' semen samples. The parameters of sperm quality returned to normal levels 2 months after infection.
The researchers also said they had found "strong evidence" that Covid-19 cannot be sexually transmitted through semen after a person has recovered from the disease.
However, more studies are still needed to know exactly how long it takes to fully recover sperm counts.
It is known that some viruses such as the flu can "damage" sperm. In the case of the flu, a high body temperature due to a fever is the cause.
But in the case of Covid-19, researchers found no link between the presence or severity of fever and sperm quality. Instead, they believe the cause may be related to the body's immune response to the virus.
Trials have shown that higher levels of Covid-19 antibodies in patients' serums are strongly correlated with reduced sperm function, the researchers said. This suggests "immunological rather than febrile causes of temporary sperm dysfunction".
Although the study found that there was no Covid-19 RNA in the semen of patients who had overcome the virus, the fact that the antibodies were attacking the sperm suggested that the virus could "break through the protective barrier". testicles" during the peak of infection, the researchers said.
