Seropositivity of Chlamydia trachomatis & Toxoplasma gondii among male partners of infertile couples in Odisha, India: A facility-based exploratory study

Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) is the most common curable sexually transmitted non-viral infection, which can cause urethritis, prostatitis, orchitis and epididymitis among males. Toxoplasma gondii, a protozoan causes toxoplasmosis among humans. These infections may lead to decreased fertility. Hence, this study was aimed to estimate the seropositivity of CT and T. gondii infection among the male partners of infertile couples in Odisha, India. In this facility-based cross-sectional study, first void urine, seminal fluid and blood sample were collected from 153 males attending infertility clinics including 74 healthy controls. Urine and seminal fluid were tested through polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect immunoglobulin (Ig) G, IgA and IgM anti-Chlamydia and IgM anti-Toxoplasma antibodies through serum. The prevalence of CT was 1.26 per cent (95% CI: 0.03-6.85) as estimated from semen samples using PCR. We detected anti-Chlamydia antibodies IgM-four per cent [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.83-11.24]; IgA-28.16 per cent (95% CI: 18.13-40.09) and IgG-12.5 per cent (95% CI: 5.87-22.4) among participants. Anti-Toxoplasma antibodies IgM were observed in 27.63 per cent (95% CI: 17.98-39.08) of participants. None of the control samples were found positive. Overall seropositivity of CT and Toxoplasma infections is comparable, which suggests that greater attention is required for screening these infections at clinics, especially among infertile couples.