Prevalencia de Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae y Ureaplasma urealyticum en muestras de semen: efectos sobre la calidad espermática

Abstract

AimGenitourinary tract infections are associated with a high percentage of cases of male infertility, but these infections are usually asymptomatic and microorganisms responsible are not always identified. The objective of this study was to detect the presence of C. trachomatis, N. gonorrhoeae, and U. urealyticum in the semen of healthy volunteers. Materials and methodsSemen samples from 84 healthy volunteers were collected. Seminal analysis was performed according to the WHO guidelines, and DNA was extracted using the phenol/chloroform technique. The polymerase chain reaction was employed to detect bacterial DNA. ResultsBacterial DNA was detected in 8 (9.5%) of the 84 samples, six of them positive for U. urealyticum (7.1%), and 3 samples were positive for N. gonorrhoeae (3.6%). Only one sample (1.0%) had a co-infection with U. urealyticum and N. gonorrhoeae. None of the samples was positive for C. trachomatis. The presence of bacterial DNA was not related to semen quality. ConclusionThe semen of asymptomatic individuals from the general population may harbour microorganisms such as N. gonorrhoeae and U. urealyticum, without affecting semen quality.