Will Nigerian couples still be able to bear children by year 2020? A Recap

INFERTILITY, INFECTIONS AND ABUSE OF ANTIBIOTICS

Infertility is fast becoming a recurrent decimal, an unpleasant one indeed with many marriages tearing apart for the said reason. Unfortunately, many people seem not to know the cause or source of their problem. A Vanguard Newspaper publication of June 27, 2011 states that whereas cases of infertility worldwide were put at 10-30%, the Nigerian figure was at 60%.
Interestingly, there are many evidences to suggest that the Nigerian picture isn’t getting any better. More so, reports have it that male fertility is on the decline due to many factors especially sexually transmitted diseases, environmental factors, alcoholism, smoking, anabolic steroid use, hormonal issues, etc.

Infertility can be defined as inability of a couple to achieve conception after one year of regular unprotected sexual intercourse. For a pregnancy to result, a woman’s body must release an egg (ovum) from her ovaries (a process called ovulation, usually monthly and which precedes menstruation); a man’s healthy and quality sperm must join with the woman’s egg along the way (fertilization) and the fertilized egg must attach to the inside of the uterus (implantation). Any hindrance to any of these steps can lead to inability to conceive (infertility). Thus, from the foregoing, it is clear that infertility is not always a woman’s problem. A man’s sperm must be healthy in terms of colour (milk-white to yellow; pink or red colour indicates bloody and faulty sperm), shape and size (jelly like, not watery and without tail or head defects), quantity (not consistently less than 1.5ml) and ability to swim at the normal pace (rapidly with forward movement). The ability of men and women to effectively play their roles towards achieving conception can be affected by infections from all sorts of infections as well as other causes.

Infections can be defined as the invasion of an organism’s body by disease-causing agents like bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozons, which are not usually present within the body. These often cause short-term or long-term undesirable consequences. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or infections (STIs) such as candidiasis, chlamydia, endometritis, genital herpes, gonorrhea, salpingitis, trichomoniasis, etc have long been known to adversely affect conception and even hamper safe pregnancy (ectopic pregnancy) as these diseases primarily affect the parts of the body necessary for reproduction. One of the bacteria ravaging many couples today is Staphylococcus aureus, responsible for infertility issues of men and women.  Infections are often treated using drugs mostly, antibiotics. This class of medicines either inhibits the multiplication (growth) or out rightly kills these organisms. These medicines are taken at appropriate strength, frequency and durations (dosages) long established to effect the kill or inhibit growth of these micro-organisms. When these medicines are administered in lower doses either due to ignorance, sheer negligence or due to other errors, over time, the organisms develop resistance to (refuse to be hindered by) these medicines. Thus in subsequent events when these medicines are used to treat these infections, they become ineffective. Worst still, when these resistant varieties of micro-organisms are transmitted to other people or hosts through sexual contact, toilet use and other means, they are also not hindered by the previously useful medicines. Thus resistance is able to spread. This leads to lack of drugs to treat hitherto simple diseases and/or the need for other drugs which may treat the diseases but may have more toxic side effects hence were not used as first-choice in the treatment of such infections.

Antibiotics are prescription-only medicines and must be dispensed at all times following the prescription of a qualified and licensed medical practitioner. Unfortunately, poor enforcement of drug distribution and other relevant drug laws and poor attitude of the society to medicines and health have led to care-free use of antibiotics with drugs like Ampicillin-cloxacillin (Ampiclox), Amoxicillin-Clavulanic (popularly branded as Augmentin), Clotrimoxazole, Ampicillin, Ciprofloxacin, etc falling victim of abuse. The consequence of this is that these drugs often fail to treat the infections and the latter persists, and overtime causes great damage to the reproductive tract and organs and ultimately, inability to achieve conception occurs. Many people have also fallen victim to the antics of quack trado-medical practitioners. Whilst traditional medicine must not be condemned, its greatest challenge in our country remains the issue of standardization which is necessary not only to assure efficacy of its intervention but the safety of its use.

In summary, Infertility is a major public health issue. Infections generally and especially, the sexually transmitted types are increasingly wrecking havoc in many people’s lives owing to fault of theirs or others especially their partners. HIV/AIDS is still on the increase and this can be attributed to many factors, one of which is careless sexual activities. It is important and highly recommended that persons with infections of any kind be bold to consult a doctor for appropriate diagnosis and treatment and also adhere strictly to the counseling information provided by a pharmacist who is the drug expert. Many of these diseases can be prevented through abstinence from unprotected sexual intercourse with infected partners, proper sanitary measures such as avoiding the sharing of toilet and toilet wares, and where inevitable ensuring these are properly sanitized before use. Appropriate treatment of infections is a very important step to curbing infertility due to infections and abuse of antibiotics. Our society must make concerted effort to take issues of medicines and health seriously by opening up and appreciating health information sources and opportunities such as the internet, books, medical outreaches, drug information centres, health talks, etc, in order to enjoy a healthy life even at old age. If these recommended actions are not enforced, chances are that procreation rates will continue to decline in Nigeria hence it is important for young and unmarried people to meditate or better still ingest and dare to digest into the belly of their consciousness, the vital question posed by this article. 

References:

1.       Novy, M., Eschenbach, D., et al, Glob. Libr. Women’s med., (ISSN 1756-2228) 2008; DOI 10.3843/GLOWM.10328

2.       www.medicinenet.com/script/main/mobileart.asp?articlekey=12923

3.       www.netdoctor.co.uk/menshealth/facts/semenandsperm.htm

4.       www.pharmanewsonline.com/common-causes-of-infertilty-in-nigeria-by-ige-ilesanmi-paul-bolarinwa

5.       www.uhhospitals.org

6.       www.vanguardngr.com/2011/06/infertility-in-nigeria-at-60-gynaecologist/

7.       www.wikipedia.com