妊娠中風疹罹患と先天性難聴—第一編 沖縄先島地区の身体障害者巡回相談の報告

RUBELLA INFECTION DURING PREGNANCY AND OCCURRENCE OF CONGENITAL DEAFNESS AMONG THE SIBLING

Ⅰ．緒言

　今回琉球政府の依頼により，日本政府技術援助として沖縄の先島である宮古・八重山地区の身体障害者巡回相談事業を実施した。その内容は，「身体障害者に対する手帳交付手続指導，更生医療，補装具交付，施設入所のための医学的ならびに職能的判定を行ない，更生援護を計る……」というものである。そこで東京都身体障害者更生相談所（現在は東京都心身障害者福祉センターに編入）が中心となつて，耳鼻咽喉科・眼科・整形外科の医師各2名，職能訓練技師1名，事務吏員2名の総計9名で相談班を編成し，われわれもその一員に加わつた。本相談班は琉球政府厚生局と沖縄身体障害者更生相談所を援助して，1968年2月21日より3月31日までの43日間宮古・八重山地区の巡回を実施した。

　During the year 1964 to early 1965 an epidemic of rubella occurred in Okinawa. During this period many women who were pregnant at the time became affected with this disease. And as a result many infants were born congenitally defective.

　The present report concerns with 61 cases of congenital deafness among children who were born during this epidemic period. Among this number, 45 of them were found to be born during the months of July, August and September. In one locality, in particular, the rate of hard-hearing as compared to normal births was 6.2%, while in some other specific areas it was as high as 13.9%. Fifty-one cases of mothers were found to have been affected with rubella in their 2nd, 3rd and 4th month of pregnancy. Severity of the lesions that occurred among the infants appeared to be inversely proportional to the stage of pregnancy at which the infection occurred i. e., earlier the stage the stronger the manifestation of lesions.