Detection of cervical infections in colposcopy clinic patients

The purpose of this study was to determine if Neisseria gonorrhoeae; Chlamy dia trachomatis; herpes simplex virus; cytomegalovirus; Epstein-Barr virus; human herpesviruses 6, 7, and 8; or adeno-associated virus influenced the production of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Two hundred thirty-one ce rvical smear samples were tested for the presence of the organisms by PCR. In addition, human papillomavirus types in the samples were determined by P CR and classified into cancer risk types of high, moderate, and low. There was no link with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia status and detection of herpes simplex virus, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, human herpesvir uses 6 and 8, gonorrhea, or chlamydia. However, high-grade cervical intraep ithelial neoplasia was found more frequently with mixed infection by modera te-risk human papillomavirus types and human herpesvirus 7 than with these papillomavirus types alone. The presence of human herpesvirus 7 may increas e the oncogenic potential of moderate-risk human papillomavirus types.