Current studies are now suggesting that COVID-19 may linger within males’ testicles, making the virus last longer and causing severe illness in men.
Scientists are tracking the recovery of 68 patients in Mumbai and India, to determine the gender disparity of COVID-19, which have caused severe illness in men, according to a preliminary report posted on the MedRix website.
Dr. Aditi Shastri, an oncologist at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, and Dr. Jayanthi Shastri, a microbiologist at the Kasturba Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Mumbai, claims COVID-19 can attach itself to a specific protein that is produced in high levels in the testicles. In addition to the large amounts in the testicles, the protein, angiotensin, is also found in the lungs, the gastrointestinal tract, and the heart.
According to the study, the testicles are blocked off from the body’s immune system, which allows the virus to remain in the testicles longer than the rest of the body. Both Dr. Jyanthi and Dr. Aditi have said the recent findings may explain why women recover more quickly than men.
The average amount of time for female patients to recover from the disease is four days, while men’s recovery time on average is two days longer, according to the report posted on MedRix.
” These observations demonstrate that male subjects have delayed viral clearance,” the preliminary report said, adding that the testicles may be serving as “reservoirs” for the virus.
The study offers some insight into reports from New York, South Korea, and Italy that men are dying at a higher rate due to the virus, according to the NY Post.
Other reports suggest that men are more acceptable to contracting the virus because they are more likely to smoke, have high blood pressure, or suffer coronary artery disease.
