Table 2 Selected bacteria infecting men and their consequences on male fertility

Chlamydia trachomatis

• Urethra [107,108,109]

• Prostate [110, 111]

• Epididymis [108, 112]

• Testis [113]

• Seminal vesicles and semen [111, 114,115,116]

• Urethritis [107, 117]

• Prostatitis [110]

• Epididymo-orchitis [107]

• Epididymitis [112]

• Seminal vesiculitis [114]

• Enlarged seminal vesicles [109]

• Controversial [118]

Escherichia coli

• Urethra [119]

• Prostate [120]

• Testis [121, 122]

• Epididymis [108]

• Seminal vesicles [123,124,125]

• Prostatitis [120, 126]

• Urethritis and urethral discharge [119]

• Epididymo-orchitis [119, 121, 122]

• Testicular pain and swelling [121]

• Testicular infarction [121, 122]

• Scotal, testicular, seminal vesicle and prostatic abscesses [121,122,123,124,125]

• Controversial but association with poor sperm parameters [127, 128]

Mycobacterium tuberculosis

• Urethra [129, 130]

• Prostate [131,132,133,134,135]

• Seminal vesicles [132, 136]

• Testis [131, 137, 138]

• Epididymis [131, 139, 140]

• Urethral fistula [129, 130]

• Urethral stricture [129, 130]

• Enlarged prostate [129, 131, 133]

• Prostatitis [131, 133]

• Urethral, prostatic, testicular and epididymal granulomatous lesions [130, 131, 133, 137,138,139]

• Urethral, prostatic, testicular and epididymal necrosis [130,131,132,133,134, 137, 138]

• Enlarged seminal vesicles [136]

• Prostatic, seminal vesicle and testicular calcifications [131, 136, 137]

• Scrotal, prostatic and seminal vesicle abscesses [129, 132, 134, 135]

• Enlarged testis [131, 132, 138]

• Enlarged epididymis [131, 132, 136, 139]

• Epididymitis [129, 139, 140]

• Scrotal pain and swelling [137, 138, 140]

• Undefined cause [140]

• Azoospermia [129, 136, 141]

Neisseria gonnorhoeae

• Urethra [108, 142]

• Semen [143, 144]

• Urethritis and urethral discharge [108]

• Dysuria [108]

• Epididymo-orchitis [142]

• Higher prostate cancer risk [145, 146]

• Controversial [106] however:

• Temporary or permanent oligozoospermia to azoospermia [142]

Staphylococcus aureus

• Seminal vesicles and semen [127, 147,148,149,150,151,152,153,154,155,156]

• Testis [157]

• Prostate [125, 151, 158, 159]

• Seminal vesicle, prostatic and testicular abscesses [125, 150, 151, 157, 159, 160]

• Epididymo-orchitis [150, 157]

• Foci of prostatic and testicular necrosis [157, 160]

• Enlarged and tender prostate [125, 150, 151, 158, 160]

• Dysuria [125, 150, 151, 157, 158]

• Controversial [148, 152,153,154,155]

Treponema pallidum

• Semen [161, 162]

• Penis [162, 163]

• Testis [164,165,166]

• Penile and scrotal lesions [162]

• Scrotal or testicular swelling [163,164,165, 167,168,169]

• Testicular gummas [165, 167,168,169,170]

• Atrophy/destruction of seminiferous tubules [164, 168, 170]

• Destruction of testicular parenchyma [168]

• Testicular obliterative vasculitis [164]

• Orchitis [165, 168, 169]

• Epididymo-orchitis [164, 166, 167]

• Higher prostate cancer risk [146, 171]

• Not directly reported

Ureaplasma urealyticum

• Urethra [172]

• Semen [173,174,175,176,177,178,179]

• Expressed prostatic secretions [110, 180]

• Epididymis [181]

• Urethritis [182]

• Epididymitis [181, 183]

• Chronic prostatitis [110, 179, 180]

• Possible association with prostate cancer [184]

• Controversial effects on spermatozoa [173,174,175, 177, 178]

• Elevated ROS in semen [179]