Prevalence of Serum Antibodies to TORCH Infection in and Around Varanasi, Northern India

Background: The acute infections which are caused by Toxoplasma gondii, Rubella virus, Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and the Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV-2) during pregnancy are often associated with adverse foetal outcomes and reproductive failures. In the Indian context, the exact seroprevalence of these infections is not known due to unavailability of baseline data. Aims: The present study was undertaken to determine the serological evidence of the acute TORCH infections in women who were in the first trimesters of their pregnancies in and around Varanasi, north India. Settings and Design: This study was carried out in the Sir Sunderlal Hospital, Varanasi and in the Department of Microbiology, Institute of Medical Sciences, BHU, Varanasi, UP, India. The study population involved pregnant women with bad obstetric histories, who were in the first trimester of their pregnancy. Methods and Materials: Sera were collected from the women with Bon and they were tested for the presence of specific IgM antibodies against the TORCH infections by ELISA. Statistical Analysis: A 95% confidence interval was calculated for the positive cases in each of the TORCH components. Results: The specific IgM antibodies were found to be positive in 74(19.4%) cases for toxoplasmosis, in 126 (30.4%) cases for the Rubella virus, in 130 (34.7%) cases for CMV and in 151 samples (33.5%) for the HSV-2 infections. Conclusions: The study showed a high prevalence of the infections which were caused by the TORCH complex amongst pregnant women with bad obstetric histories. Therefore, all the antenatal cases should be routinely screened for the TORCH infections, for carrying out early interventions to prevent foetal loss.