key: cord-0900876-qeicc474
authors: Song, Ci; Wang, Yan; Li, Weiqin; Hu, Bicheng; Chen, Guohua; Xia, Ping; Wang, Wei; Li, Chaojun; Diao, Feiyang; Hu, Zhibin; Yang, Xiaoyu; Yao, Bing; Liu, Yun
title: Absence of 2019 Novel Coronavirus in Semen and Testes of COVID-19 Patients
date: 2020-04-16
journal: Biol Reprod
DOI: 10.1093/biolre/ioaa050
sha: be45f9e9d6d1f4f713546b943cb2ff455989adc2
doc_id: 900876
cord_uid: qeicc474

nan

that the virus primarily targets the respiratory system and transmits via air droplets and contact. In addition to oropharyngeal swabs, the 2019-nCoV has also been detected in blood, urine, and facial/anal swabs, suggesting other potential means of transmission [1] [2] [3] . Among COVID-19 patients, there are more men than women [1] . Yet, although recent reports found no evidence of either sexual or vertical transmission by women infected with the 2019-nCoV [4, 5] , very little is known about the potential impact of 2019-nCoV infection on the male reproductive system. Of interest, bioinformatic analyses have revealed that angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, a receptor utilized by the 2019-nCoV, is abundantly expressed in the testis and male reproductive tract [6, 7] , raising an urgent question of potential sexual transmission through semen by men. To address this question, we conducted a study with the approval of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Nanjing Medical University by examining the 2019-nCoV RNA in semen samples collected from 12 patients in their recovery phase, as well as in testicular samples from one patient who died of COVID-19 during the acute phase.

The 12 men (aged between 22-38 years) who were diagnosed with COVID-19 between January 31 and March 14, 2020 in Wuhan were recruited with written informed consent. Eleven were categorized into the mild or common subgroup while one was placed in the asymptomatic subgroup. In addition, one 67

year-old patient who died of COVID-19 on March 10, 2020 in Wuhan was included, after written informed consent was obtained from the family. The clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, chest

CT scans, treatment and clinical outcome data of the 13 men are summarized in Table S1 . 

Clinical Characteristics of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in China

Novel Coronavirus can be detected in urine, blood, anal swabs and oropharyngeal swabs samples

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Different Types of Clinical Specimens

Clinical characteristics and intrauterine vertical transmission potential of COVID-19 infection in nine pregnant women: a retrospective review of medical records

Clinical features and sexual transmission potential of SARS-CoV-2 infected female patients: a descriptive study in Wuhan, China

scRNA-seq Profiling of Human Testes Reveals the Presence of ACE2 Receptor, a Target for SARS-CoV-2 Infection

ACE2 Expression in Kidney and Testis May Cause Kidney and Testis Damage After 2019-nCoV Infection

New coronavirus pneumonia prevention and control program (7th edn). National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China 2020

World Health Organization, Department of Reproductive Health and Research. WHO laboratory manual for the examination and processing of human semen Fifth edition