Prashanth Rajendiran1, Nithiyanandan Saravanan1, Mageshbabu Ramamurthy1, Sathish Sankar1, Nancy David2, Aravindan Nair3, Rajasekar Aruliah4, Balaji Nandagopal1, Gopalan Sridharan1
1Sri Narayani Hospital and Research Centre, Sri Sakthi Amma Institute of Biomedical Research, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
2Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Sri Narayani Hospital and Research Centre, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
3Department of General Surgery, Sri Narayani Hospital and Research Centre, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
4Department of Biotechnology, Thiruvalluvar University (State University), Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
DOI: 10.4103/jnsbm.JNSBM_103_20

ABSTRACT

Introduction: TORCH‑S agents include Toxoplasma gondii, Rubella virus, Cytomegalovirus, Herpes simplex virus (HSV) (1 and 2), and Treponema pallidum (syphilis) which are transmissible in utero at various stages of gestation. Description of the Hypothesis Tested: TORCH‑S agents are known to cause adverse fetal outcomes and pregnancy loss. The Approach Used: Pregnant women attending a multispecialty hospital for regular antenatal care and high‑risk pregnant women with a bad obstetric outcome from a rural area of Vellore District were recruited. A total of 180 pregnant women recruited from two centers were used. Pregnant women were evaluated for their serological status (IgM and IgG) against TORCH‑S agents using commercial enzyme‑linked immunosorbent assay kits available for respective pathogens. Results: Among the samples (n = 180) collected, IgM antibodies were positive in 3 (1.66%) for Toxoplasma gondii and 1 (0.55%) for HSV1. IgG antibodies were positive in 14 (7.77%) women for T. gondii, 152 (84.44%) for Rubella virus, 110 (61.11%) for CMV, 125 (69.44%) for the HSV‑1 (16.66%), 30 were positive for HSV‑2, and 5 (2.77%) women were positive for Treponema pallidum. In the 17–25‑year age group, the number of IgG positives for T. gondii and HSV‑2 were lower compared to other pathogens. Conclusions: The study reports a high prevalence of IgG to TORCH‑S agents in pregnant women indicating a high risk among these populations. Routine screening for TORCH‑S agents among antenatal women is warranted as timely diagnosis, and proper intervention could help initiate appropriate management. Information of these infections could help the clinicians for appropriate counseling on the potential for adverse fetal outcomes and preventive measures to the mothers.

Key words: Bad obstetric history, enzyme‑linked immunosorbent assay, high‑risk pregnancy, IgG, IgM, TORCH‑S infections

Please follow and like us:
News Reporter