Coronavirus might be transmitted through semen, a study suggests

Experts say they have found traces of Covid-19 in the sperm of men who have recovered from the disease.

A doctor is encouraging people who had coronavirus to abstain from sex or use condoms if further trials show the disease is passed on by sex.

A study of 38 patients found that six of them - including two who had recovered - had Covid-19 in their semen.

British experts pointed out that viruses such as Ebola and Zika can also be carried in the semen of men who have recovered from the illnesses.

According to the Sun, Allan Pacey, professor of Andrology at Sheffield University, said: “It shows that RNA for the virus responsible for Covid-19 can be detected in the semen of a proportion 16 per cent of men with a confirmed infection.

"This opens up the possibility that one route of infection may be through sexual contact, although this was not confirmed in the paper."

Professor Richard Sharpe, from Edinburgh University, called on scientists to establish how long the virus can stay in the sperm.

He added: “This finding raises the possibility that Covid-19 might also be transmissible via semen and thus via sexual contact, perhaps including during the recovery phase.”