Covid-19 Causes Erectile Dysfunction In Men Even Months After Recovery?

A recent study suggested that men who were infected with Covid-19 should be aware that erectile dysfunction could be a problem even after months of recovery.

Scientists from the University of Miami had discovered that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was still present in the male genitals of recovered patients, Eurekalert reported.

It was concluded after researchers had scanned the penile tissues of two recovered SARS-Cov-2 patients aged “65 and 71” who were both suffering from “impotence”.

According to , Daily Mail, one of the men has been seriously ill and hospitalized for SARS-Cov-2, while the other one had only mild symptoms after being infected with the same virus. The two men both went through an operation called “penile prosthesis surgery” for erectile dysfunction. In this procedure, “penile implants” were placed inside their private areas in order to get an erection.

On the other hand, the researchers had also collected tissue samples from two other men who had undergone the same surgery but with no previous history of being infected by the same virus.

They were able to find “coronavirus-like” particles from the first two men who had been infected six and eight months before their recovery while the same were not present in the other two men with no Covid-19 history.

The author of the study, Ranjith Ramasamy, M.D., who was also an associate professor and director of the Miller School’s Reproductive Urology Program, said that their research had shown that SARS-Cov-2 can cause and extensive “endothelial dysfunction” apart from the lungs and kidneys.

Microscopic images of the SARS-Cov-2 particles that were found in the penile tissues of the first two men can be seen from the Medical Doctor’s social media post. It was shared by Dr. Ramasamy’s on his Twitter account on Monday. It reads, “COVID-19 virus present in the penis up to 7 months after the initial infection in humans !!"

Endothelial dysfunction is a condition in which the lining of the small blood vessels fails to perform all of its functions normally that can usually lead to "erectile dysfunction".

Dr. Ramasamy added that the underlying endothelial dysfunction was due to the SARS-Cov-2 virus being able to penetrate through the endothelial cells that can affect many organs particularly the lungs and the penis.