Is there an impact of COVID-19 on male fertility?

Covid-19 infection may reduce fertility in men

Ground Report | New Delhi: A new study on covid-19 patients has revealed that covid-19 can reduce sperm quality in men with damage and fertility, sperm cells die faster than coronavirus, inflammation and oxidative stress can increase.

According to research published in the journal Reproduction that direct experimental evidence for the first time suggests that the mail reproductive system could be damaged by covid-19. 

According to the study, if we talk about infertility in men, then 7 percent of the men suffer from infertility. For this study, data from 84 patients infected with covid-19 for 60 days at 10-day intervals were taken and compared to data from 105 healthy men. 

Increases in inflammation and oxidative stress were reported in the sperm cells of men infected with covid-19. In this, a chemical imbalance affects proteins and DNA in the body. 

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Experts say that this effect on spermatozoa resolves over time, but this condition persists abnormally in covid-19 patients. It also states that the severity of the disease is an important factor in this change in men's sperm health.

Similar receptors used by the virus to reach lung tissue are also found in the testicles. But the effect of the virus on reproductive ability in males was not clear.

Researchers said that more thought needs to be done before making any further conclusions. No evidence yet exists that covid-19 can cause long-term loss of fertility in males. According to the researchers, the WHO should declare it a high-risk organ.

Behzad Maleki and Bakhtiar Tartibian of Justus Liebig University in Germany discovered biological markers that may indicate negative effects on fertility.

Sperm cells in covid-19 patients showed a significant increase in markers of inflammation and oxidative stress, a chemical imbalance that can damage DNA and proteins in the body.

Maleki said in a statement, "These effects on sperm cells are associated with lower sperm quality and lower fertility".

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However, these effects improved over time. Significant in covid-19 patients and Remained unusually high. Maleki said, "The male reproductive system should be considered a sensitive root of covid-19 infection and should be declared a high-risk organ by the World Health Organization."

On the other hand, the experts who were not involved in this study welcomed the research, but said that more research was needed before concluding soon. 

Alison Campbell, director of ambrology for the Care Fertility Group in Britain, said, "Men should not be unduly concerned." He told the London-based Science Media Center, "covid-19 has no negative evidence of prolonged damage to sperm or male fertility".

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