風疹と難聴

Abstract

A widespread epidemic or rubella occurred in Okinawa, Japan for the first time during the years 1964 and 1965. In 1966 the first investigation into the rubella epidemic was carried out, the second one in 1967. In the second inquiry, one hundred and three infants with histories of maternal rubella were examined. All of them were between 1 year and 2 years 4 months old. All mothers were questioned regarding the dates of exposure to rubella in pregnancy. All infants were investigated regarding birth-weight, dates of teeth eruption and age at walking alone, ocular defect, heart disease, present physique and hearing. The audiologic examination was conducted by means of "conditioned orientation reflex audiometry". In this series, 86 infants had hearing impairments, congenital heart disease was observed in 33 cases and cataract in 18 cases. Most of such congenital rubella syndroms were found among infants born after maternal rubella which occurred within the first four months of pregnancy. It was found that hearing impairments in many cases were severe. Most audiograms of hearing-loss-children showed flat curves or gently sloping ones. Only two infants showed a typical asymmetrical hearing loss. A large proportion of the infants showed retarded physical development. The physique of infants having total deafness or residual hearing had in particular been greatly retarded. There were also many cases of cerebral palsy and visual disorders.