風疹と先天性聴力障害—沖繩における先天性風疹症候群

MATERNAL RUBELLA AND CONGENITAL DEAFNESS: RUBELLA DEAFENED CHILDREN IN OKINAWA

I．はじめに

　先天異常は種々の原因でおこるが，放射線や化学物質，なかでもサリドマイドはよく知られている。最近では染色体異常が注目されているが，感染ではまず風疹があげられ，その他サイトメガロウイルスやトキソプラスマなどの感染によつて先天異常がおこることが知られている。今回われわれは沖繩において，わが国ではきわめてまれであるが，欧米では先天性聴力障害の原因として重要視されてきた妊娠中風疹罹患に基因する先天異常の多発を経験した。特に聴力についての最終的結論を得てはいないが，従来の欧米における知見について触れながら，われわれの経験を報告し，諸賢の御参考に供したいと考える。

　There was a rubella epidemic in Okinawa during the period from October, 1964 to June, 1965. 183 children whose mothers had rubella during the pregnancy were examined, and 56 among them were diagnosed as congenital rubella syndrome. In addition to them, 4 patients who had typical symptoms of congenital rubella syndrome without maternal history of rubella were discovered.

　The diagnosis of deafness was made through startle response, and 31 children did not respond to tonal stimuli. They had congenital defects other than deafness; 18 congenital heart diseases and 15 cataracts. The earlier stage of pregnancy rubella attacked their mothers, the more number of defects complicated them. The weight at birth of the deaf children born at full term (26 cases) were significantly small compared with that of normal children.