Is it true that Tuberculosis TB can cause infertility? Found nothing on the web.?

Question

There are three elderly members of our neighbor's family, all are over 80, who had TB as children. The 2 girls and 1 boy were in TB hospitals in Norway for quite a while. All three are infertile. Their other 6 brothers anfd sisters did not have TB and they all had at least 1 child.

This is very interesting to us. TB is making a come-back in Europe. Many from Eastern Europe and non-Western immigrants are bringing this into Scandinavia nad Europe. Any info or experience with this out there?

Answer 1

Disseminated tuberculosis can infect any organ of the body including inside the abdominal cavity, the ovaries and fallopian tubes. thus the infertility.

Rapid weight loss associated with TB may also interrupt ovulation, thus causing infertility.

Regards,

David Schultz, M.D.
Richmond, Va

Answer 2

It does so only when it infects the genital tract . This is called genital TB. While the initial exposure to the tubercle bacillus is through the lungs ( because the bacillus is inhaled), most of us can fight off the infection, as a result of which it remains silent in the body, causing no harm. However, sometimes these latent bacilli can get reactivated, and then spread throughout the body through the blood stream. They can then get deposited in any part of the body, casuing a TB infection of that part. It is only when it lodges and infects the genital tract, that TB can cause infertility . In the man it causes tuberculous epididymo-orchitis, blocking the passage, as a result of which the man becomes azoospermic ( no sperm enter the semen because the tract is blocked). In the woman, it cause tuberculous endomteritis ( infection of the uterus) and salpingitis ( infection of the tubes). This infection can often be silent, and may not cause any symptoms or signs at all.

Answer 3

TB is not just limited to the lungs. TB can spread to other organs, including your fallopian tubes. If the infection is active then it causes scar tissue which can cause tubular infertility.
See this link, the article is long so you read it!

http://www.drmalpani.com/tuberculosis-and-infertility.htm

But any infection that can cause damage and scar tissue(which all do) Will have consequences in the organ they affected impairing its function so in this case if it is in the reproductive organs the end result is infertility.