A small study of deceased nonvaccinated men who died of COVID-19 complications suggests the testes may be a sanctuary for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, raising questions about potential consequences for reproductive health among those infected.
The study, published online Tuesday on the preprint server MedRxiv, found that "patients who become critically ill exhibit severe damages and may harbor the active virus in testes," which can "serve as a viral sanctuary."
Guilherme M.J. Costa, PhD, a professor at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, led the study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Dr Guilherme M.J. Costa
"A critical point of this article is that the virus was active in the patient's testis after a long period of infection, indicating that the testis is able to maintain the viable virus for extended periods. It happens for many kinds of viruses in this genital organ," Costa told Medscape Medical News.
Brian Keith McNeil, MD, vice-chair, Department of Urology at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in New York City, told Medscape Medical News the topic of COVID-19 and fertility has been discussed but data are sparse on the subject.
Dr Brian Keith McNeil
"The question this raises is whether or not COVID can live in the testes, and based on this it seems it can," he said, adding that it also raises the question of whether COVID-19 could be transmitted through semen.
