Italy detects monkeypox in human semen
The director-general of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Lazaro Spallanzani, Francesco Vaia, said that the monkeypox virus may be in one of the components of semen.
The official statement issued by the organization stated: “Our researchers are the first to discover that the virus responsible for monkeypox can be present in the semen of an infected person. In a form capable of replication.”
The Director General of the Institute explained that in 6 of the seven patients, the presence of the virus was detected in this particular part of the semen.
“The virus was isolated in the institute’s laboratories from semen taken from a patient six days after the onset of fever, and was able to infect and multiply in vitro in a cell culture,” Faya said.
According to him, virologists said “even in difficult times” that people “can and should lead a full life”, but it is necessary to take precautions for this.
The institute’s specialists continue to work on the study of monkeypox in biological materials. They believe that the study will help answer a number of questions about the sexual transmission of the virus.
