Mycoplasmas, a review of surveys examining human genital infections and experimental infection in mice with special reference to in vitro fertilization.

Patients attending an "In Vitro Fertilization" clinic were shown to be commonly infected in the semen with Ureaplasma urealyticum (29%) and Mycoplasma hominis (12%). Other mycoplasmas were rarely recovered. M. hominis was not eradicated from sperm by washing, although washing removed 71% of the ureaplasmas from infected semen. There was a significantly higher incidence of U. urealyticum and M. hominis in patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (P = less than 0.05 and P = less than 0.01 respectively) than in controls. The results showed a possible association of U. urealyticum and M. hominis with CIN type 3. Mouse experiments showed that M. pulmonis has an affinity for genital tissue, adhered to the surface of eggs and could penetrate the zona pellucida, but did not affect fertilization except where pus was present in the oviduct.