Virology research paper in Springer Nature's professional academic journal "Nature Microbiology" shows that extracellular vesicles found in semen and saliva can block infection by viruses. The findings help understand why direct human-to-human transmission of these viruses is low and why they are easily spread through body fluids that lack this molecule (such as blood) or through blood-sucking insects.
The authors concluded that their findings could be used to develop new antiviral drugs, but further research is needed.