ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention
Serological screening for specific antibodies against TORCH pathogens in reproductive-aged women in Zhangzhou, China
Provisionally accepted
- 1Collaborative Innovation Center for Translation Medical Testing and Application Technology, Department of Medical Technology, Zhangzhou Health Vocational College, Zhangzhou, China
- 2Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhangzhou Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Zhangzhou, China
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Introduction: TORCH is a group of pathogens including Herpes simplex virus (HSV), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Rubella virus (RV) and Toxoplasma gondii (TOX). Serological screening for the specific antibodies against TORCH pathogens is crucial for preventing fetal malformation and miscarriage. In this study, we analyzed the characteristics of TORCH IgM and IgG seropositivity in reproductive-aged women in Zhangzhou, China. Methods: A total of 1417 reproductive-aged women prior to conception attended prenatal diagnosis outpatient clinic in Zhangzhou and received the prenatal TORCH serological screening were enrolled in this study. The IgM and IgG antibodies against TORCH pathogens were detected using chemiluminescence immunoassay. Results: The positive rates of IgM for TOX, RV, CMV and HSV-1/2 were 0.64%, 2.33%, 1.34% and 11.22%. The IgG seropositivity for TOX, RV, CMV, HSV-1 and HSV-2 were 3.81%, 72.83%, 97.46%, 82.64% and 7.27%. The positive rate of HSV-1/2-IgM and TOX-IgG in 2024 were lower than that in 2023. In addition, the positive rates of RV-IgG and HSV-1-IgG were significantly higher in the women aged 30-34 years old and ≥35 years old. The CMV-IgM and HSV-2-IgG positive rates were higher in women ≥35 years old. Regarding seasonal distribution, the positive rate of HSV-1/2-IgM was significantly higher in spring (Mar to May) than that in winter (Dec to Feb). The seropositivity of all TORCH-IgG showed no significant differences across four seasons. Conclusion: Our research highlights the age and seasonal distribution of TORCH seroprevalence in reproductive-aged women in Zhangzhou. These findings underscore that continuous serological surveillance is important for the prevention of congenital infections caused by TORCH pathogens.
Keywords: age, Season, Seropositivity, TORCH pathogens, Zhangzhou
Received: 28 Jul 2025; Accepted: 03 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Huang, Chen, Wang, Zeng and Guo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yueli Guo
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