viral co-infection diagnosis in cervical samples using next generation sequencing technology

Background & objective: the study explores human papillomavirus (hpv), a significant cause of cervical cancer, and its potential coinfections with other viruses like human herpes virus type 4 (hhv-4) or epstein-barr virus (ebv) and hiv. next-generation sequencing (ngs) technology is used to analyze viral content in cervical samples from iraqi women. materials & methods: eight cervical samples were collected and processed using illumina dna prep on the iseq100 system. viral genomic dna was isolated and libraries prepared for sequencing. results: metaviralspades assembled contigs from each sample, which were then blasted against the nt database. hpv16, hhv4, hiv, and bovine alpha herpesvirus 5 were among the viruses identified across samples. conclusion: viral coinfections identified through ngs underscore their potential impact on cervical health, emphasizing ngs's diagnostic sensitivity for viral infections not typically detected by standard gynecological methods.