COVID-19 May Undermine Male Fertility - Russian Health Ministry Official

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th June, 2020) Men who have been infected with the coronavirus may face reduced fertility, the chief specialist in Pediatric Gynecology of the Russian Health Ministry, Elena Uvarova, said on Tuesday.

"By the way, today's infertility issues � especially male infertility � have manifested to a greater extent due to COVID-19. Data shows that the COVID-19 [results in] a sperm quality reduction of 38 percent," Uvarova said during a press conference at the Rossiya Segodnya news agency.

There has been a debate regarding the potential impact of COVID-19 on male fertility since the new coronavirus was first detected. Earlier in the month, researchers from the Tufts Medical Center in Boston and the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan published a study presenting an analysis of samples from 11 patients who died from COVID-19 in Wuhan and suggesting that the virus could harm tissues involved in sperm and testosterone production without actually infecting their cells.