Researchers identify 27 viruses that can persist in semen

Alex P. Salam, MBChB, MSc , clinician and clinical researcher with the United Kingdom Public Health Rapid Support Team, and Peter W. Horby, MBBS, PhD, professor of emerging infectious diseases and global health at the University of Oxford, said their findings underscore the need for additional research to determine whether these viruses remain viable in semen and for how long. “The presence of viruses in semen is probably more widespread than currently appreciated, and the absence of virus in genital secretions should not be assumed for traditionally nonsexually transmitted viruses,” they wrote in Emerging Infectious Diseases. “The investigation of virus detection and persistence in semen across a range of viruses is useful for clinical and public health reasons, in particular for viruses that lead to high mortality or morbidity rates or to epidemics.” According to the researchers, blood-testes/deferens/epididymis barriers are “imperfect” in preventing viruses in blood from crossing into the male reproductive...