key: cord-1016778-6r67g5zk
authors: Kayaaslan, Bircan; Korukluoglu, Gulay; Hasanoglu, Imran; Kalem, Ayse Kaya; Eser, Fatma; Akinci, Esragul; Guner, Rahmet
title: Semen Does Not Cause Additional Risk for SARS-CoV-2 Transmission during Sexual Contact
date: 2020-10-16
journal: Urol Int
DOI: 10.1159/000511618
sha: 3a05b72131e3fe3c7a658d1b810048e29817ccc5
doc_id: 1016778
cord_uid: 6r67g5zk

nan

We read the letter to the editor by V. Wiwanitkit with the title "SARS-CoV-2 in semen" [1] . The author emphasizes that even if semen has a very low possibility for transmission of the virus, the disease can be transmitted by the respiratory route due to the very close contact between partners. Actually, we think the same as the author. Transmission with respiratory secretions during sexual contact poses a much greater risk than the transmission through semen [2, 3] . We think that even if severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is detected in a patient's semen sample, it is quite difficult to say that the transmission between partners has solely been through semen. As the risk of transmission with respiratory secretion is clearly defined from the beginning of the pandemic, we did not have a need to emphasize this point. In our study, we only aimed to investigate the role of semen in disease transmission. The risk of respiratory contact or other risky behaviors that are revealed during sexual activity was not mentioned. Our study argues that there is probably no additional transmission risk via semen. The available data also support our study that SARS-CoV-2 is not a sexually transmitted virus [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] . However, sexual contact carries a high risk in terms of SARS-CoV-2 transmission between partners through the respiratory secretions, not semen.

SARS-CoV-2 in semen

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2: implications for infection prevention precautions

Community Transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2

No evidence of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 in semen of males recovering from coronavirus disease 2019

Clinical characteristics and results of 21 semen tests among men with coronavirus disease 2019

Absence of SARS-CoV-2 in semen of a CO-VID-19 patient cohort

Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 in semen of patients in the acute stage of COVID-19 infection

Male Fertility and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Systematic Review of the Literature