Background: A variety of viruses, including influenza and mumps virus can disrupt male reproductive function and potentially infect the testes. The pandemic COVID-19 has the ability to damage multiple organ systems. The male genitalia could be one of its targets.
Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine how COVID-19 affected sperm characteristics.
Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional case control study with 100 fathers who had recovered from COVID-19 three
months before starting the study and 100 fathers of similar age who were healthy served as controls. Semen of all participants was analyzed utilizing computer-assisted semen analysis.
Results: Patients who had recovered from COVID 19 had significantly lower sperm parameters than controls including
sperm concentration, progressive and total motility (P<0.001). There was no correlation between sperm count, motility,
morphology index, or teratozoospermia with illness severity. Abnormal semen analysis could be predicted from the duration of COVID-19 infection..
Conclusion: COVID-19 negatively impacts the male reproductive system, at least temporarily.