Semen samples from 35 men taken within a month of their recovery showed a 60 per cent drop in their sperm’s ability to move and a 37 per cent reduction in sperm count.
The study, published on Monday in the Fertility and Sterility journal, took samples from 120 men in Belgium with an average age of 35 years and at an average of 52 days after their COVID-19 symptoms had cleared.
As time since recovery from COVID-19 increased, the quality of sperm also improved. Samples from 51 patients taken between one and two months after recovery showed 37 per cent had reduced sperm motility and 29 per cent had low sperm counts, falling further to 28 per cent and 6 per cent after at least two months had passed.
“On the basis of the current worldwide published information, COVID-19 is not an STD. This information is important for clinicians, proposed guidelines for public health, U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines for gamete and tissue donor eligibility, and fertility treatments.”
