Women Suffering from Tuberculosis Are At High Risk for Becoming Infertile

The number of women suffering from genital tuberculosis in India is 30% and Saudi Arabia is the second highest with 21% in 2015.

Recently doctors warned that Genital Tuberculosis (TB) in 40-60% of women is leading to infertility.

According to doctors, the only reason every two in 10 women, suffering from TB, are not able to bear child is the genital TB, which is increasing with the lack of awareness and lifestyle changes.

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"In women, the TB leads to thinning of endometrium due to the infection in uterus, thus resulting as a barrier to proper development of foetus. It's very difficult to notice the traits of TB hampering the fertility,” said Ajay Murdia, the director of Indira Infertility Clinic and Test Tube Baby Centre.

"However, there are symptoms like irregular menstrual cycle, vaginal discharge that is stained with blood, pain after intercourse could be noticed, but in many cases as bacteria remains latent these symptoms are showcased at a later stage," he added.

A recent study by the Indian Journal of Medical Research through its survey stated that the number of women with genital tuberculosis in India has increased to 30% in 2015 from 19% in 2011.

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Early diagnosis of multi drug resistant-TB (MDR-TB) followed by immediate treatment without delay helps prevent severity of the disease and lowers mortality.

The report also stated that Saudi Arabia has the second highest number of genital tuberculosis patients with 21%.

Murdia said apart from the sneezes, coughs of a TB patient, genital TB also spreads through sexual intercourse with an infected person.

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MDR-TB is less capable of spreading compared with drug-susceptible TB and improves the chances of controlling drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Talking about the genital TB in men, Arvind Vaid, a Delhi-based IVF specialist, said the disease blocks the passage, as a result of which the man is not able to discharge his sperm into a woman's vagina. Other symptoms are low sperm motility and pituitary gland not able to produce sufficient hormones can be seen.

He said proper medication in proper time could cure genital TB and help woman in getting successfully pregnant and also cautioned the mothers suffering from TB to put a mask on their face and only then breast feed their baby to protect their kids from contracting TB.

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Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, primarily affects the lung. It may spread to other organs.

Speaking on the test available in the market to diagnose genital TB, Vaid said, "The most trustworthy method of diagnosis is making a histological diagnosis of tubercles that helps doctors on laparoscopy to confirm whether the suspicious lesions are due to tuberculosis or not. Polymerase chain reaction is also one of the methods to diagnose. Unfortunately it's expensive and not reliable," he added.

Source-IANS