Hantavirus May Survive in Human Sperm for up to Six Years and Cause a Transmission Risk

Hantavirus can remain in human semen for up to six years and has the potential for sexual transmission even after a person has recovered, according to a peer-reviewed study.

The discovery means male patients are likely to be advised to change their sexual practices as happens with other viruses such as Ebola, which also survives in the sexual tract.

The research was conducted at the Spiez Laboratory, a Swiss government institute tasked with fighting nuclear, biological and chemical threats, and published in the journal Viruses.

They investigated a Swiss 55-year-old man who had become infected with the Andes strain of the hantavirus in South America six years earlier.

They found that although there was no longer any trace of the virus in man’s blood, urine and respiratory tract, it was still detectable in his semen 71 months later. (Read more from “Hantavirus May Survive in Human Sperm for up to Six Years and Cause a Transmission Risk” HERE)

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