[Etiological study of low fertility in eastern Gabon: scheme an]

A survey was conducted in 1975 in 2 regions of Eastern Gabon to study the causes of low fertility in the mainly rural population. 875 men and 673 women were interviewed and examined by a team of gynecologists doctors and biologists who did bacterial parasitic immunological and genetical examinations. Hydroceles and epididymal lesions were frequent especially in older men. All kinds of lesions were more frequent in men without children suggesting an association between infertility and certain genital abnormalities. An association was found between microfilaremia and clinical lesions. Women affected by primary or secondary sterility complained of leukorrhea and pelvic pain. Most women who had never had children had some deviation of the uterus and adherences. Tubal insufflation performed on 85 nonfertile women revealed partial or total obstruction in over 60% of cases.