Microorganisms in semen used for artificial insemination.

The effect of freezing semen in a cryopreservative media consisting of egg yolk glycerol with or without erythromycin was tested for its effect on the viability of microorganisms present in donor semen and on sexually transmitted pathogens seeded into semen. All donor semen contained two or three species of microorganisms that could be considered skin flora. Five of ten donor semen specimens contained Ureaplasma urealyticum that was not affected by either freezing or antimicrobial treatment. Some strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, when seeded into semen, survived all conditions except freezing in egg yolk glycerol containing erythromycin. Chlamydia trachomatis was erradicated when erythromycin was present in the cryopreservative. There was no detectable effect of any treatment tested on the survival of herpes simplex virus.