The persistence of mycoplasmas in the urogenital tract of men in the Antarctic

Abstract

SUMMARY: A series of meatal swabs, taken from 17 men over a period of 17 months during their tour at an Antarctic base was examined for mycoplasmas. The number of organisms isolated never exceeded 10⁴and not every specimen from each man yielded mycoplasmas. Nevertheless,Mycoplasma hominiswas isolated from 71% and T-mycoplasmas from 59% of the men at some time during their stay.M. hominispersisted in the presence of serum IHA antibody titres of 1/64. Three subjects yielded onlyM. hominisand one only T-mycoplasmas.Six men had already spent a year at the base when the study began and myco-plasmas were still being isolated from some of them at the end of a 31 month period of isolation. The persistence of mycoplasmas in the male genital tract can therefore be independent of sexual contact. Two modes of persistence are suggested; either a few men act as carriers and reinfect the others by contaminating their environment, or as seems more likely, most men have chronic infections.