Sperm profile of infertile men in Mali

Infertility remains a major sociocultural problem in view of the fact that in Africa, in general, and in Mali, in particular, the main purpose of marriage remains procreation. The birth of a child is a source of joy and contributes to maintenance of a certain harmony in the home. In Africa, infertility is a dramatic problem that is difficult to bear for the couple. It is the leading cause of marital discord or divorce. It is considered to be due to fate, or a curse inflicted on the couple. For the woman, it represents a divine punishment, as it is usually the woman who is blamed for the problem male responsibility is only discovered during assessment of the couple's infertility. Sperm count and sperm cytology are the basic examinations performed on semen. These examinations constitute key elements to evaluate the quality of semen. In Mali, the Cytogenetics and Reproduction Biology laboratory performs the greatest number of semen examinations in the country. The purpose of this study was to present the sperm profile of infertile men in Mali based on a 5-year retrospective study. Male infertility is a public health problem in Mali. The age-group most frequently affected is between 30 and 39 years. Primary sterility was the predominant form, observed in 70% of the subjects studied. Schistosomiasis plays a predominant role in the infectious history. The sperm count results show that cases of oligoasthenozoospermia and azoospermia represent 49.5% and 23.7% of the study population, respectively.