Acid-fast bacilli in semen; correlation with bacterial index.

Thirty multibacillary patients (12 LL, 18 BL) were historically reviewed and clinically assessed for evidence of testicular involvement. The bacterial index (BI) of the patients ranged from 1+ to 6+; the morphological index (MI), from 0% to 3%. Nine (30%) patients had oligospermia, while acid-fast bacilli (AFB) were demonstrable in the semen of 3 (10%) patients (2 LL, 1 BL). There was a significant correlation between the BI and the demonstration of AFB in semen (p less than 0.01).