COVID-19 is unlikely to be spread through sexual transmission, according to a study that found no evidence of the novel coronavirus in the semen or testes of men. The study, published in the journal Fertility & Sterility, was not comprehensive enough to fully rule out the possibility that the disease could be sexually transmitted. However, the chances of it occurring, based on this limited finding, appear to be remote, the researchers said. "The fact that in this small, preliminary study that it appears the virus that causes COVID-19 doesn't show up in the testes or semen could be an important finding," said James M Hotaling, an associate professor at University of Utah in the US. "If a disease like COVID-19 were sexually transmittable that would have major implications for disease prevention and could have serious consequences for a man's long-term reproductive health," said Hotaling.