Clinical features and sexual transmission potential of SARS-CoV-2 infected female patients: a descriptive study in Wuhan, China

Pengfei Cui; Zhe Chen; Tian Wang; Jun Dai; Jinjin Zhang; Ting Ding; Jingjing Jiang; Jia Liu; Cong Zhang; Wanying Shan; Sheng Wang; Yueguang Rong; Jiang Chang; Xiaoping Miao; Xiangyi Ma; Shixuan Wang

. In addition, SARS-CoV was detected in urine, feces and tears of some SARS-CoV infected patients. It was confirmed that SARS-CoV could be transmitted through fecal-oral and contiguous pathways 6, 8 . Thus far, there has not been a report to show if SARS-CoV can be transmitted through sexual transmission. Therefore, based on the transmission route of SARS-CoV, current preventive measures, including maintaining good personal and environmental health, and implementing strict contact and droplet prevention measures in the community, can effectively prevent the spread of SARS-CoV 6 . However, different from SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, another virus of the same coronavirus family, which was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and later spread to several other countries 9,10 , was transmitted through large droplets and close contact, although the possibility of air transmission or dust mite transmission was not ruled out 9 . Also, it is not clear whether MERS-CoV is sexually transmitted. The World Health Organization (WHO) has provided recommendations for the prevention of MERS-CoV, mainly including droplet and contact precautions 11 . Interestingly, HCoV-229E in the coronavirus family was detected in the maternal vagina and also found in the gastric swab samples of newborns 12 . This makes the sexual transmission of this type of virus possible although there is no direct evidence to prove it. Therefore, it also remains possible that SARS-CoV-2, as a new type of coronavirus, could be sexually transmitted.