Torch Panel IgG & IgM, Serum

The TORCH panel is a group of tests used to screen newborns and, sometimes, pregnant women for certain infections that can cause birth defects in a baby if the mother contracts them during the pregnancy. The tests detect antibodies produced by the immune system when exposed to the infectious diseases. Some of the antibody tests are ordered individually; the complete TORCH panel is less commonly ordered since more specific and sensitive tests to detect these infections are available. The blood tests that make up the panel are for: Toxoplasmosis Rubella Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Herpes simplex virus (HSV) For more about these infections, see the What is being tested?
section or click on the links in the bulleted list above to go to the individual test pages. Other infections that may be tested for at the same time include syphilis, hepatitis B, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), enterovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, varicella-zoster virus, and parvovirus B19.

What type of testing is used to confirm infection with these microorganisms?

To make the diagnosis of an active infection with one of the TORCH pathogens, more specific confirmatory tests may be required. In a baby, cerebrospinal fluid testing (requiring a lumbar puncture or "spinal tap") is often used to confirm toxoplasmosis, herpes and rubella; urine may be cultured for cytomegalovirus; and skin lesions may be scraped and cultured for herpes simplex virus. Making the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in the pregnant woman or the baby may require additional blood samples, which are sent to a reference lab that specializes in this testing.