Abstract
The possible association between microorganisms and fertility were first investigated in the early 1930s when sperm agglutination was noted in the presence of certain strains of bacteria (Rosenthal, 1931). Two decades later, Matthews and Buxton (1951) cultured cervical bacteria from women with longstanding infertility, and these organisms were determined to have spermicidal effects. Successful treatment in individuals with bacteriospermia led to marked improvement in their fertility rates (Buxton and Wong, 1952). Wu (1957) has reported that 50% of all semen samples examined from infertile couples about to receive artificial insemination were contaminated by bacteria. Forty-four percent of the 50% contained bacteria with spermicidal effects. Many types of bacteria have been isolated with differing spermicidal effects. For example, Staphylococcus aureus, E. colt, Streptococcus viridans and Haemolyticus are highly spermicidal; whereas Micrococcus, enterococci, Staphylococcus albus, diphtheroids, and nonhemolytic Streptococcus also exhibit spermicidal activity at higher concentrations than 105 ml. E. colt, a common sperm contaminant, also shows increased spermicidal activity at higher concentrations than 105 ml (Derrick and Dahlberg, 1976). Treatment of males with contaminated semen has resulted in increased numbers of pregnancies (Quesada et al., 1968). Improvement in pregnancy rates has also been noted when ejaculates were treated with antibiotics prior to artificial insemination (Wu, 1957). In general, appropriate antibiotic treatment in women, men, or the semen ejaculate has had a salubrious effect in fertility rates.
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Paulson, J.D., Leto, S. (1985). The reproductive effects of microorganisms in semen. In: Keith, L.G., Berger, G.S. (eds) Common Infections. Infections in Reproductive Health, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4878-5_25
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4878-5_25
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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