Chlamydial infections and male infertility

Chlamydial infections may be difficult to diagnose due to the silent symptoms and difficulty in culturing. An infectious process may impair fertility by adversely affecting sperm functions, resulting in testicular damage or causing obstruction of the genital tract. In our study, we tried to find Chlamydial antigen by using EIA (Enzyme Immune Assay) and to compare the Ag(+) and Ag(-) groups according to semen parameters. Except for semen volume, we found significant differences in density, morphology, motility and viability (intervolume p > 0.05, interdensity p < 0.01, intermorphology p < 0.001, intermotility p < 0.001 and interviability p < 0.001).