Frequency of Staphylococcus aureus isolates collected from men semen and women endocervix and detection of antibiotic resistance

Background and objects: Urogenital tract and asymptomatic cervical infections due to Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) have been recognized with infertility. This study was aimed to determine the frequency of S. aureus in semen and endocervix cultures obtained from infertile male and female patients in infertility centers in Tabriz.Materials and Methods: In this study, 100 infertile couples were selected. Standard semen and vaginal speciemens analysis were performed according to WHO guidelines. Isolation and identification of S. aureus was carried out using phenotypic and genotypic methods. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was conducted by CLSI guidelines. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detection of mecA and tst genes. Results: S. aureus were isolated from seminal fluid of sixteen (16%) of infertile men and endocervix of twenty six (26%) women. Ten (62.5%) of the subjects had abnormal sperm motility and morphology and 3 (18.8%) of the subjects had abnormal seminal fluid density. The susceptibility of S. aureus isolates to co- trimoxazole, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, and penicillin was 94.6, 78.5, 78.4, and 17.3%, respectively. Regarding PCR results, mecA gene was detected in 3 (18.7%) isolates of men and 7 (26.9%) isolates of women, whilst the tst gene was not detected in any of clinical isolates. Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that the prevalence of S. aureus was very high in infertile women and it would appear that the S. aureus may be an exacerbating factor in the deterioration of male sperm quality and fertility. Therefore, it is required that all patients who are referred to infertility treatment centers are fully examined for infection with S. aureus.

Keywords:

Infertility , Staphylococcus aureus , Seminal fluid , Endocervix , mecA