As the third of this series, following Report I and II which presented data on possessing rate of neutralizing antibody to rubella virus among inhabitants of Kumamoto city and Tokyo city, respectively, this report offered data on the same matter among some inhabitants of Otsu city and its suburb.
Serum samples tested were 420 in total, that were mainly obtained from pregnant women visiting prefectural Otsu Hospital during a period from May to July in 1966, from pupils of a school of the blind, and from school children of the First and Second Biwako Gakuen; the latter two were tested in June to July in that year.
At first, the antibody possessing rate by age distribution and by sex among all persons tested is described, then in considering the particular concern which has been existing about relationships between rubella and intra-uterine infections and some congenital eye diseases, the data on the pregnant women and the blinds are commented separately. Further, in pre-adult cases, a comparative study was made with HI antibody possessing rate to measles virus.
1) The antibody possessing rate by age distribution among all persons tested was as follows: It began to rise at 10, as was the case in Kumamoto city, and reached a maxmum, about 55%, at 20 to 24, showing no appreciable decline thereafter. This curve is considerably lower than reported figures on Tokyo (in Report II), Osaka, and New York city, and a little higher than that of Kumamoto city (Report 1). This probably means that no rubella epidemics of appreciable size have been experienced in and around Otsu city in the past ten years.
2) No difference of worth mentioning in the possessing rate by sex was observed in any age group, as was the case in Kumamoto city.
3) Possessing rate of the antibody among the pregnant women in the city was about 50%, the figure considerably lower compared with that of large city of Japan, such as Tokyo or Osaka. That means the risk of infection at the time of pregnancy is higher here.
4) There was no evidence suggestive of whether the cases with congenital eye diseases were related, in whatever degree, with intra-uterine transmission of the virus at their mothers' pregnancy.
5) To pre-adult age groups, mainly consisting of pupils of the First and Second Biwako Gakuen, measuring of HI antibody to measles virus was paralleled. It showed an average of the nation's statistics for their age.