TORCH infections among 550 Tibetan childbearing women in Qinghai Tibetan region

ObjectiveTo examine the seroprevalence of TORCH(Toxoplasma gondiiToxo,other viruses,rubellaRV,cytomegalovirusCMV,and the herpes simplex virusHSV)infections among Tibetan childbearing women in a Qinghai Tibetan area,and to provide references for research on influencing factors of TORCH infections.MethodsA total of 550 blood samples were collected from Tibetan women aged 15-49 years in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai province;enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used for detecting specific TORCH IgM antibodies in the serum samples.ResultsAmong the women,the serum positive rates were 2.18%(12/550) for CMV-IgM,2.36%(13/550) for HSVⅠ-IgM,15.82%(87/550) for HSVⅡ-IgM,1.27%(7/550) for RV-IgM,and 0.91%(5/550) for Toxo-IgM,respectively,with an overall positive rate of 18.18%(100/550) for HSV IgM.Most of the women with TORCH infection were single positive and a few were multiple positive,with only 2(0.36%)being positive to both CMV-IgM and Tox-IgM,one(0.18%)to HSV II-IgM and RV-IgM,and one(0.18%) to both HSV II-IgM and Tox-IgM.ConclusionThe rate of TORCH infections is high among Tibetan childbearing women in Qinghai Tibetan region and health education and behavioral intervention need to be promoted to reduce the prevalence of TORCH infections.