Abstract

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This work is aimed at determining whether presence of microorganisms in seminal fluid might be the cause of male infertility.Three hundred and eighty-eight semen samples were submitted and analyzed microbially by routine semen analysis and culture techniques. Bacteriological examination of the semen samples revealed five bacterial isolates, including Staphylococcus aureus (39.2%), Klebsiella sp. (13.7%), Escherichia coli (9.8%), Proteus mirabilis (15.7%) and Neisserria gonorrhoeae (8.8%). The motility of sperm cells showed that 208 (53.6%) had 70 -100% actively motile cells, 116 (29.9%) had 50-60% actively motile cells and 64 (16.5%) had below 50% actively motile cells. Analysis of the duration of sperm motility showed that 20 (5.2%) had duration of 1- 10 hours, 276 (71.1%) had duration of 11 – 20 hours and 60 (15.5%) had duration of 21 – 24 hours. Analysis of the semen viscosity showed that 16 (4. 1 %) had highly viscous semen, 100 (25. 8%) had slightly viscous semen, 100 (25.8%) had watery semen and 172 (44. 3%) had moderately viscous semen. This study revealed that, infertility in men could be as a result of the presence of microorganisms in semen.

Keywords: Semen, bacterial isolates, men, fertility problem, Imo State