Year: 2026 | Month: July-September | Volume: 11 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 172-180
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/gijhsr.20260320
Prevalence of Bacterial Infection among Males with Fertility Problems Attending Federal Teaching Hospital Owerri
Ogborogu, Veronica C1, Amah Henry C1, Dike-Ndudim J. N.1, Udujih Helen I1
1Department of Medical laboratory Sciences, Imo State University, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria.
Corresponding Author: Ogborogu, Veronica C
ABSTRACT
Background: Bacterial infections of the male reproductive tract have been linked to male infertility. This study set out to determine the prevalence of bacterial growth and identify the bacterial species among males with fertility problems in Federal teaching hospital Owerri, Imo state, Nigeria.
Methodology: The study population incorporated 200 consenting male patients aged 18years and above. Semen samples were cultured on chocolate agar, mannitol salt agar, blood agar and MacConkey agar. Antibiotics sensitivity testing was conducted using kirby-bauer disk diffusion method.
Results: The semen culture results indicated that 62.5% of the study participants had bacterial growth. Staphylococcus species was mostly the organism isolated from the positive cultures (38.4%), followed by Escherichia coli (20.0%) and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species (CoNS) (16.8%). The S. aureus isolated in this study showed high susceptibility to Vancomycin (97.3%) with moderate susceptibility to Levofloxacin (66.7%) and Ceftriaxone (64.6%). High resistance to Penicillin and Augmentin was also observed.
Conclusion: The study demonstrated that bacterial infection is prevalent in males attending fertility clinic, with S. aureus being the frequent isolate. The multidrug resistance observed emphasise the need for semen culture and antibiotics sensitivity testing before commencement of treatment.
Keywords: Semen, male infertility, Staphylococcus aureus, bacteria, antibiotics susceptibility.