TORCH UPDATED ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
TORCH Toxoplasma
Other (Syphilis)
Rubella
Cytomegalovirus
Herpes Simplex Virus
TORCH Epidemiology - affect 1-5% of all live births
- General symptoms:
Premature birth
Growth retardation
Neuorlogical abnormalities
Damage to ee, liver, heart and ear bone lesions
Microcephaly, hydrocephaly, seiures and psychomotor retardation accompany
these malformations
CheapTorches Chickenpix and Shingles
Hepatitis C,D,E
Enterovirus
AIDS (HIV infection)
Paravirus B19
Toxoplamsosis
OTher (GBS, Listeria, Candida, Lyme Disease)
Rubella
Cytomegalovirus
Herpes simplx
Everything else sexually transmitted (Neisseria gonorrhea, Chlamydia,
Ureoplasma urealyticum, human papillomavirus)
Syphilis
, Routine infectious disease screening (US, pregnant Hepatitis B virus carrier status
women) HIV infection
Group B streptocoocal colonization
Rubella immunity
Syphilis infection
Why not screen TORCH? Routine screening for TORCH infections as a package is NO VALUE in pregnancy
and can lead to harmful interventions
- CMV hyhperimmune globulin (CMV HIG)- promise in reducing the risk of
perinatal transmission (secondary prevention)
Toxoplasma - Toxoplasma gondii- protozoan parasite that infects most species of warm
blooded animals including humans causing the disease toxoplasmosis
- definitive host: Felidae (CAT family)
- 22% seropositive rate in U.S.
- most persons asymptomatic
Toxoplasmosis 1. Unsporulated oocysts are shed in the cat's feces
2. Although oocysts are usually shed for 1-2 weeks, large numbers may shed.
Oocusts take 1-5 days to sporulate in the environment and become infectiove.
Intermediate hosts in nature become infected after igesting soil, water or plant
material contmainated with oocysts
3. Oocysts tranform into tachyzoites shortly after ingestion. These tachyzoites
localize in neural tissue and develop into tissue cyst bradyzoites
4. Cats become infected after consuming intermediate hosts harboring tissue
cysts. Cats may also become infected directly by ingestion of sporulated oocysts.
5. Animals bred for human consumption and wild game may also become
infected with tiisue cysts after ingestion of sporulated oocysts in the environment.
Humans can become infected by any of several routes:
6. Eating undercooked meat of anumals harboring tissue cysts
7. Consuming food or water contaminated with cat feces or by contaminated
environmental samples
8. Blood transfusion or organ transplanatation
9. Transplacentally from mother to fetus
10. In the human ost, the parasites form tissue cysts, most common in skeletal
muscle, mycocardium, brain and eyes; these cysts may remai throughout the life
of the host
11. Diagnosis is usually achieved y serology although tissue cysts in staied biopsy.
Diagnosis of congenital infections can be achieved by detecting T.gondii DNA in
amniotic fluid sing molecular methods
Tachyzoites - responsible for acute infection by rapidly mulitplying inside a host whic causes
overall population of parasite to grow (more agressive paraste stage - moves
around the body and invades target host cells)
- multiply within a cell until cell lysis and new parasites can move on to infect
more target host cells
- mainly found in
TORCH Toxoplasma
Other (Syphilis)
Rubella
Cytomegalovirus
Herpes Simplex Virus
TORCH Epidemiology - affect 1-5% of all live births
- General symptoms:
Premature birth
Growth retardation
Neuorlogical abnormalities
Damage to ee, liver, heart and ear bone lesions
Microcephaly, hydrocephaly, seiures and psychomotor retardation accompany
these malformations
CheapTorches Chickenpix and Shingles
Hepatitis C,D,E
Enterovirus
AIDS (HIV infection)
Paravirus B19
Toxoplamsosis
OTher (GBS, Listeria, Candida, Lyme Disease)
Rubella
Cytomegalovirus
Herpes simplx
Everything else sexually transmitted (Neisseria gonorrhea, Chlamydia,
Ureoplasma urealyticum, human papillomavirus)
Syphilis
, Routine infectious disease screening (US, pregnant Hepatitis B virus carrier status
women) HIV infection
Group B streptocoocal colonization
Rubella immunity
Syphilis infection
Why not screen TORCH? Routine screening for TORCH infections as a package is NO VALUE in pregnancy
and can lead to harmful interventions
- CMV hyhperimmune globulin (CMV HIG)- promise in reducing the risk of
perinatal transmission (secondary prevention)
Toxoplasma - Toxoplasma gondii- protozoan parasite that infects most species of warm
blooded animals including humans causing the disease toxoplasmosis
- definitive host: Felidae (CAT family)
- 22% seropositive rate in U.S.
- most persons asymptomatic
Toxoplasmosis 1. Unsporulated oocysts are shed in the cat's feces
2. Although oocysts are usually shed for 1-2 weeks, large numbers may shed.
Oocusts take 1-5 days to sporulate in the environment and become infectiove.
Intermediate hosts in nature become infected after igesting soil, water or plant
material contmainated with oocysts
3. Oocysts tranform into tachyzoites shortly after ingestion. These tachyzoites
localize in neural tissue and develop into tissue cyst bradyzoites
4. Cats become infected after consuming intermediate hosts harboring tissue
cysts. Cats may also become infected directly by ingestion of sporulated oocysts.
5. Animals bred for human consumption and wild game may also become
infected with tiisue cysts after ingestion of sporulated oocysts in the environment.
Humans can become infected by any of several routes:
6. Eating undercooked meat of anumals harboring tissue cysts
7. Consuming food or water contaminated with cat feces or by contaminated
environmental samples
8. Blood transfusion or organ transplanatation
9. Transplacentally from mother to fetus
10. In the human ost, the parasites form tissue cysts, most common in skeletal
muscle, mycocardium, brain and eyes; these cysts may remai throughout the life
of the host
11. Diagnosis is usually achieved y serology although tissue cysts in staied biopsy.
Diagnosis of congenital infections can be achieved by detecting T.gondii DNA in
amniotic fluid sing molecular methods
Tachyzoites - responsible for acute infection by rapidly mulitplying inside a host whic causes
overall population of parasite to grow (more agressive paraste stage - moves
around the body and invades target host cells)
- multiply within a cell until cell lysis and new parasites can move on to infect
more target host cells
- mainly found in
