Background: Bacterial infections have been recognized as an important contributing factor to male infertility. Escherichia coli is strongly implicated in the development of male infertility.
Objective: The study aimed to isolate and identify prevalent bacterial species responsible for urogenital tract of infertile men and study antibiotic resistance pattern and genetic virulence profiles
Methods:. A total of 240 clinical samples ( seminal fluid and mid-stream urine) were collected from male infertile attending a private laboratory in Al-Diwaniyah City between December 2024 and July 2025 , samples were cultured on blood agar and MacConkey agar and incubated aerobically for 24 hours at 37°C . Bacterial isolate were identified biochemically . Presumptive E.coli isolates were confirmed using the VITEK2 system for identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing . Molecular confirmation was achieved via polymerase chain reaction targeting the 16 SrRNA Gene. Confirmed isolates were screened by PCR for the specific virulence genes.
Results: Bacterial growth was observed in only 45( 18.75 %) of these samples . Fourteen isolates were identified as E.coli . VITEK2 confirmed identification ( 100% certainty) and revealed a high susceptibility to imipenem (100%) ,Piperacillin-tazobactum and Amikacin (85%) nitrofurantoin (78%) , Trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazol (71%), Lower Susceptibility was noted for ciprofloxacin (28%) and Ceftazidime (14%). virulence gene screening identified the FimH gene in all isolate(100% ) while the papC and recx gene were detected in 42.8%and 57% of isolates ,respectively.
Conclusion: The study revealed a significant presence of virulent and multidrug-resistant E.coli from urogenital tract of infertile male