Spermophagia - Health Effects - Semen and Transmission of Disease

Semen and Transmission of Disease

Semen can be the vehicle for many sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Further research, such as that by Mathur and Goust, demonstrated that non-preexisting antibodies were produced in humans in response to the sperm. These antibodies mistakenly recognized native T lymphocytes as foreign antigens, and consequently T lymphocytes would fall under attack by the body's B lymphocytes.

Semen contains many proteins with potent antimicrobial activity against bacteria, fungi and virus. But none of these proteins are active against Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a common cause of sexually transmitted disease.

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