Research from the Center for the Study of the Human Genome and Stem Cells, the University of São Paulo’s Institute of Biology (IB-USP), suggests that men could be the main transmitters of the novel coronavirus in relation to women. The results of the work were published on the medRxiv platform, in an article without peer review.
In the peer-review process, reviewers may suggest that the work be rejected, published as-is, or sent back to scientists for further experiments.
According to the survey, there are differences between men and women in the susceptibility and transmission of covid-19 between couples with direct contact without protective measures. The epidemiological survey was conducted from July 2020 to July 2021, including 1,744 Brazilian couples not vaccinated against covid-19, with at least one partner being infected and diagnosed.
The data collected showed that men were the first or only infected in most cases, including concordant couples – when both were infected – as in discordant, when one partner remained asymptomatic despite close contact with the infected. . In total, 946 men were infected for the first time compared with 660 women.
“This discovery confirms and is in line with the findings made in recent studies we have made, which already indicated that humans can transmit more of the novel coronavirus,” said Mayana Zatz, a professor at IB-USP.
Another study, published in early August by researchers from Human Genome and Stem Cell Studies in the journal Diagnostics, found that men have about ten times the viral load in their saliva than women, particularly up to 48 years of age. . The difference in viral load was not detected in tests with nasopharyngeal samples, according to the study coordinated by Professor Maria Rita Passos-Bueno.
“Since the virus is mainly transmitted by saliva droplets, we deduced that this would explain why men transmit more viruses than women,” Mayana said.