Knowing the prevalence of potential etiologic agents of nongonococcal and nonchlamydial cervicitis is important for improving the efficacy of empirical treatments for this commonly encountered condition. We describe four multiplex PCRs (mPCRs), designated VDL05, VDL06, VDL07, and VDL09, which facilitate the detection of a wide range of agents either known to be or putatively associated with cervicitis, including cytomegalovirus (CMV), enterovirus (EV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) (VDL05); Ureaplasma parvum, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma genitalium, and Mycoplasma hominis ( Cervicitis, an acute or chronic inflammation of the uterine cervix, is generally viewed as a consequence of infection with sexually transmissible agents. Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis are the most commonly reported pathogens, possibly because they are most frequently screened for. However, the etiology of most cases is undetermined and could be multifactorial in nature (11,34,35,40). Studies undertaken in other epidemiologic settings indicate significant differences in the prevalences of other cervical infectious agents (1,41,44,45,58). An underappreciation of the prevalences of and roles played by these nongonococcal and nonchlamydial agents potentially jeopardizes the effectiveness of empirical treatments for cervicitis. Unresolved cervicitis can result in ascending infection, endometritis, pelvic inflammatory disease, and salpingitis (11,23,46). Furthermore, cervicitis may enhance human immunodeficiency virus susceptibility by the disruption of mucosa, allowing increased viral replication within recruited inflammatory cells (30). The development of molecular methods, such as PCR and DNA hybridization, has allowed the detection of a range of agents whose etiologic roles in genital infections need to be further investigated, including the viruses cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 (4, 43), adenovirus (6,10,50), and the Mollicutes Ureaplasma parvum, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma hominis, and Mycoplasma genitalium (1,28,59). There have also been reports of genital infections caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) (4, 55), varicella-zoster virus (VZV) (27), and enterovirus (EV) (24). We report here the use of four multiplex PCR (mPCR) assays, designated VDL05, VDL06, VDL07, and VDL09, based on a conventional platform, for the detection of 19 microorganisms in cervical swabs, including Treponema pallidum and C. trachomatis, Trichomonas vaginalis, group B streptococci, and five adenovirus species, in addition to those mentioned above. The assays were developed using cervical swabs from different women taken on one or more occasions during different visits to a sexual-health clinic.
MATERIALS AND METHODSPatients. Cervical swabs (n ϭ 233) were taken from 175 women consecutively attending a sexual-health clinic in Sydney, Australia (between one and three visits), during 2006 and 2007 who we...
