Metagenomic sequencing for facel samples from subjects infected with VZV

From Jan 2020 to December 2021, a total of 115 patients with shingles, 28 patients with PHN and 63 healthy subjects were recruited at Huazhong University of Science and Technology Union Shenzhen Hospital for metagenomic analysis. All stool samples were collected, aliquoted into cell culture cryogenic tubes and immediately stored at -80. Patients with shingles or PHN were diagnosed by physicians at the clinic. Age- and gendersex- matched participants who did not report any acute or persistent pain in the past 3 months were considered healthy controls. The exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) use of antibiotics within the past 3 months; (2) use of probiotics or yogurt within the past 3 months; (3) vegetarian diet. For FMT, stool samples were collected from 5 healthy subjects and 5 patients who reported a pain score (visual analogue scale, VAS) of >4 and had a diagnosis of PHN for more than 3 months. The demographics of subjects involved in the FMT experiments are presented in the Data Sset 1. All participants signed the written informed consent. The study protocol was approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of Huazhong University of Science and Technology Union Shenzhen Hospital.