Scientists discover Hanatavirus can live in men for 6 years | World | News
Scientist discovers virus can live in a man’s sperm (Image: Getty)
Hantavirus can survive in a man’s semen for up to six years after infection. refereed claimed the scientific paper. The discovery means men infected with the virus, which recently infected at least 11 cases on a cruise ship, including three deaths, could be forced to change their sexual practices dramatically in the coming years.
Researchers found Andes virus genetic material in the semen of a 55-year-old man in Switzerland 71 months after he first became ill. The case, published in the journal Viruses, involved a man who developed hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome after traveling to South America in 2016. Andes virus is a type of hantavirus found in parts of Chile and Argentina and is usually spread to humans through contact with infected rodents.
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An outbreak linked to a cruise ship has sparked global concern (Image: Getty)
They found that the virus was no longer detectable in the man’s blood, urine or respiratory system, but traces of the virus were still found in his semen 71 months later.
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As has been seen with other viruses such as Ebola and Zika, male testicles may act as a “reservoir,” allowing the virus to persist while evading the body’s immune defenses.
Hantavirus infections may initially cause flu-like symptoms, then progress to breathing difficulties and heart and lung failure in severe cases.
Andean virus is thought to be of particular concern because it is one of the few hantaviruses previously documented to be transmitted from person to person.
In this case, researchers continued to test the patient’s samples even after he recovered.
Viral RNA disappeared much earlier from blood, urine and respiratory samples but remained detectable in semen for 2,188 days.
However, researchers were unable to isolate infectious viruses from the samples.
This means that the findings do not prove that the man could infect someone through sex; however, this cannot be ruled out because hantaviruses are difficult to isolate, the authors said.
They concluded that the findings showed that Andean virus had the potential for sexual transmission, but said more research was needed to determine whether there was long-term persistence in more survivors.
Passengers on the cruise ship are currently in isolation (Image: Getty)
Health officials said the findings came after six people on the cruise ship linked to the hantavirus outbreak left Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral to continue isolating at home.
MV Hondius passengers were taken to the facility to be checked by experts.
The UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) said public health and clinical experts assessed each person’s situation and they were allowed to continue 45 days of isolation at home following their last negative test.
It said “appropriate public health protections are in place at every stage of the journey” for those leaving the facility.
It was stated that health protection teams across the UK will continue to monitor and support everyone through daily contact after they leave hospital.
The UKHSA said everyone at Arrowe Park “remained asymptomatic”.
