Identification of pathogenic bacteria that associated with male infertility

Introduction: Infertility has become a major emotional and social issue in worldwide currently. Up to 15% of male infertility cases are caused by infections. One of the main causes of male infertility is male urogenital tract infection (UTI), as bacteria in semen samples may decrease the quality of sperm.Aim and Objectives: This study aimed to identify the bacterial infection by culturing semen sample of infertile men and their patterns of antimicrobial sensitivity in vitro in order to help with the development and tracking antibiotic susceptibility and suitable empirical treatment.Materials and Methods: All 102 semen samples were obtained from infertile men were attending Azadi Teaching Hospital in Kirkuk city during the period November 2023 to September 2024. Semen samples first cultured on bacteriological media then Vitek2 compact system is used for detection of genus and species of isolated bacteria.Results and Discussion: According to the results of the present study, (19.6%) isolates showed bacterial growth and (80.4%) had no bacterial growth (60%), the commonest isolates were Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (60%) followed by Escherichia coli (E. coli) (15%), Enterococcus spp. (10%) and each of Streptococcus viridans, Acinetobacter spp., and Pseudomonas aeruginosa at percentage (5%), and the infection in primary infertile males more common than secondary infertile males. The susceptibility and resistance of E. coli to the antibiotics indicate high susceptibility to ciprofloxacin (25%), and gentamicin (22%), otherwise, high degree of resistance rates to ceftriaxone (60%), and tetracycline (40%). Also the sensitivity and resistance of S. aureus against the antibiotics are done, our investigation reported that those isolates more sensitive to Nitrofuration at (60%), and highly resistance to Benzylpencillin at (50%).Conclusion: There should be continuous efforts to educate people about the testing of infertile males semen for bacterial profiles. Bacteria have the potential to lower the activity value of sperm Consequently, infections have been shown to negatively affect semen characteristics such as sperm concentration, motility, morphology, and DNA fragmentation.