The aim of the present study was to investigate the correlation between infection rates with TORCH pathogens including toxoplasma, rubella virus, cytomegalovirus, and herpes simplex virus (HSV) I and II and congenital cataracts. In total, the data from 69 children with congenital cataract treated at the Children's Hospital of the Zhejiang University School of Medicine between May 2006 and September 2013 were examined, including the complete serum test results for immunoglobulin (Ig)G and IgM that target TORCH pathogenic antibodies. These results were compared with the antibody levels of 5,914 children in a control group. Using SPSS 19.0 software, variance equation Levene tests, mean equation t tests, and completely randomized design of four tables χ2 tests were applied. The HSV II IgG positivity rates significantly differed between the cataract and control groups. These results suggested that HSV may be one of the pathogenic viruses that leads to congenital cataracts.
Keywords: TORCH; children; congenital cataract.