Is Hantavirus a new STI? Here’s why it could be in your semen

If you’ve had hantavirus it could be in your semen after you recover (Picture: Getty Images/imageBROKER RF)

Emerging details about Hantavirus, the illness responsible for three deaths on board a British cruise ship, have raised concerns it could be transmitted via sex.

According to a 2023 study in the journal Viruses, the rat borne virus can survive in human semen for up to six years after that person became infected.

The Spiez Laboratory, a Swiss government institute tasked with fighting nuclear, biological and chemical threats, investigated a 55-year-old man who had previously had the Andes strain of the hantavirus.

Researchers discovered that although there was no longer any trace of the virus in man’s blood, urine and respiratory tract, it was still detectable in his semen 71 months later.

But does this mean you could catch hantavirus from having sex with someone who had previously fallen ill? And should we be treating it as an STI? We asked a doctor to give us the lowdown.

How can hantavirus live in semen?

‘The testes and male reproductive tract are what we call “immune privileged” sites, meaning the immune system does not patrol them as aggressively as it does other parts of the body,’ Dr Suzanne Wylie tells Metro.

‘This is partly because sperm cells are biologically unusual and could otherwise trigger immune reactions, so certain viruses are able to persist there for prolonged periods even after they have disappeared from the blood and respiratory tract.’

The study makes it clear that yes, hantavirus can survive in semen for a long time, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s highly infectious.

The GP and medical adviser for IQdoctor says viruses such as Ebola and Zika can behave in this way, and standard advice for those infected is to wear condoms whenever they have sex to prevent potential transmission.

Dr Wylie completely understands the concern that you could be exposed to the virus via unprotected sex.

‘It’s important to stress that confirmed sexual transmission of hantavirus remains exceptionally rare and the evidence is still very limited,’ she explains. ‘At the moment it’s more of a serious scientific and public health question than evidence of a widespread new route of transmission.’

If you’ve currently got hantavirus you shouldn’t be having sex with anyone because the disease can spread through prolonged contact.

If you’ve recovered from Hantavirus, it’s not standard practice for doctors to recommend you wear a condom for a period of time after the illness but Dr Wylie say that could change if more research determines the traces in semen could be infectious.

As part of practicing safe sex it’s wise to use condoms regardless of whether you’ve been unwell or not to protect against STIs.

Could this affect women in a similar way?

In short, there’s not enough evidence to know if the virus could live in the vaginal or reproductive tissues in the same way it lives in semen.

‘Biologically the testes are somewhat unique because of their immune-protected environment, so it may not behave identically in females,’ Dy Wylie says.

‘That said, researchers will almost certainly now start looking more carefully at persistence in female reproductive tissues as well.’

Could I catch hantavirus six years later?

Potentially yes, if you have sex with someone who had the virus some years ago, there’s a possibility you could catch it from them, even if they themselves have recovered.

Hantavirus survives in semen but it’s not clear yet if it’s infectious (Picture: Arman Onal/Anadolu via Getty Images)

‘That doesn’t necessarily mean large numbers of recovered patients are infectious for years, but it does mean the assumption that recovery automatically equals zero transmission risk may not always be true for every hantavirus strain, particularly Andes virus,’ Dr Wylie explains.

If you’re wondering if this means it should be considered an STI, the expert says most clinicians wouldn’t currently describe it as one.

‘This is because its primary mode of transmission remains exposure to infected rodents and their droppings, and person-to-person spread overall is still uncommon outside certain Andes virus outbreaks in South America,’ she adds.

‘However, if further studies confirm viable virus can persist in semen and be sexually transmitted long after recovery, then sexual transmission would clearly need to be recognised as an important secondary route.’ 

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