TORCH Complex - Conditions

Conditions

The TORCH complex was originally considered to consist of four conditions, with the "TO" referring to "Toxoplasma". The four-term form is still used in many modern references, and the capitalization "ToRCH" is sometimes used in these contexts.

Alternatively, the "O" is redefined as "other", and the acronym is spelled out as follows:

  1. T – Toxoplasmosis / Toxoplasma gondii
  2. O – Other infections (see below)
  3. R – Rubella
  4. C – Cytomegalovirus
  5. H – Herpes simplex virus-2

The "other agents" included under O are Coxsackievirus, Syphilis, Varicella-Zoster Virus, HIV, and Parvovirus B19.

Hepatitis B may also be included among "other agents", but the hepatitis B virus is a large virus and does not cross the placenta, hence it cannot infect the fetus unless there have been breaks in the maternal-fetal barrier, such as can occur in bleeding during childbirth or amniocentesis.

The acronym has also been listed as TORCHES, for TOxoplasmosis, Rubella, Cytomegalovirus, HErpes simplex, Syphilis.

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