Can sperms get infected with herpes if a man has herpes on the penis?
Dr Kamlendar Singh
Senior Consultant, Dermatology and Venereology,
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi
Senior Consultant, Dermatology and Venereology,
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi
Q: My 24 years old boyfriend has herpes on the head of his penis. We always use a condom during intercourse and still after two years I do not have the herpes virus. In future, I would like to have children and I understand that I cannot conceive in the traditional way. So if I use his sperms to conceive, will they contain the herpes virus?
A:The HSV virus is shed from the mucosal surface where the eruptions appear off and on. The sperms are produced in the testes; later these can always get infected when they pass over the surface from where the virus is being shed.