Scientists investigating Chlamydia in the US have discovered many tiny organisms living deep within men's penises which.According to a report from the Scientist magazine, the area was once considered by biologists and doctors to be completely sterile in the absence of infections.
But experts now believe that there are many more micro-organisms in the penis – and occupying many more parts of it – than we had ever realised.
David Nelson, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology, said he and his colleagues at the University of Indiana were studying sexually-transmitted diseases when they found evidence that the pathogens were receiving metabolites – which promote growth – from another microscopic source.
Nelson added that different people were hosts to different blends of microbes, and that there didn’t seem to be a specific set that made for a “healthy” urogenital tract.
* Streptococcus faecalis (a bacterium commonly found in the human intestine but which can also cause urinary tract and skin infections)
It was also gathered that while some bacteria could make a man more susceptible to infections like Chlamydia, others could actually help prevent them.
“We just don’t know at this point,” Nelson said.
It is believed that there are currently only two controllable factors which impact the number of microbes found in and on the penis, circumcision and sex.
According to a 2010 study published in Plos One, men who are uncircumcised “have significantly more bacteria on their penis, and the types of bacteria are also very different”.
The same study also found similar make-ups of bacteria between sexual partners, “lending support to the idea that partners share genital microbiota”.
The scientists however, advised that a great deal more research is required in the area before solid health advice could be issued.
Sources: Naij.com news, The Scientist
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