318

ADAMS ET AL.

3, x? = 0.759. P = 0.86) (Table 2). Persons 27

years of age or younger were excluded from this
particular analysis because the youngest exposed
individuals were 28 years old in 1982. Since there
was no apparent effect of radiation exposure on
the prevalence of retinochoroiditis, the combined prevalence for all groups was calculated
and found to be 3.9%. The age-specific prevalence of retinochoroiditis in seropositive persons
wasrelatively constant between the ages of 10
and 59 years. Based on the discovery of three
new cases of retinochoroiditis in 275 seropositive adults reexamined after 4 years, the incidence was 273 cases/ 100.000 seropositive adults

per year.

DISCUSSION

The high prevalence of antibody to T. gondii
frequently found among other Pacific
populations*’ is also present in the Republic of
the Marshall Islands. Large local variations in
the frequency of positive serologic tests for T.
gondii were not detected when analyzed according to age, sex, or atoll of residence at the time
of serologic testing. Frequent travel by the Marshallese amongthe atolls may explain the relative
homogeneity of the infection. Furthermore,pigs,
rats, and fowl are ubiquitous. However, cats, an
important source of human infection on some
Pacific islands,'' are currently uncommon on
Rongelap and Utirik. Therefore othersignificant
modes of infection may exist, such as ingestion
of inadequately cooked cyst-containing meat.
Local pork is not eaten frequently, but when it
is prepared on festive occasions many persons
might be exposedto a single source.
Chorioretinopathy was found in 3.9% of 485
seropositive Marshallese. A prevalence of 11%
was found in 192 persons examinedon Trukatoll
in 1964.’ However, the Truk lesions were not
felt to be typical of toxoplasmosis, despite the
presence of Toxoplasma dye test antibodies in
80%of the surveyed population,andfilarial infection was considered as a possible etiology. Filariasis is not present on the low Marshallese
atolls, but retinal lesions are clearly an important
health problem. Repeat ophthalmologic examinations performed in 1985 on 275 seropositive
persons who had normal eye examinations in
1981 revealed three previously undiagnosed cases

of retinochoroiditis. The ages of the individuals

were 40, 42, and 53 years. If these were in fact

new Toxoplasmalesions, the resulting incidence
of retinochoroiditis in seropositive persons would
be 273 cases/year/ 100,000 persons. However. the
late developmentofretinochoroiditis in the three
individuals is not entirely consistent with the

relatively stable age-specific distribution of ret-

inochoroiditis shown in Table 2 nor the current
view that ocular toxoplasmosis usually occurs
prior to age 40.'? Of 28 personswith retinal lesions compatible with toxoplasmosis, 5 (18%)
had significant visual loss in one or both eyes.
With a population of 33,000, a seropositivity
prevalence of 93.8% in those 10 years of age or
older, a prevalence of retinochoroiditis of 3.9%
in seropositive persons, and visual loss occurring
in 18%of those with retinochoroiditis, one may

estimate that as many as 200 visually impaired
personsin the Republic of the Marshall Islands
owetheir disability to toxoplasmosis. Thesefindings suggest that Toxoplasma epidemiology in
the Republic of the Marshall Islands differs from
that previously reported for other Pacific islands
whereit was theorized that the ubiquityof early

childhood infection made clinically significant

toxoplasmosis andfetal infection unlikely.* It was
cautioned, however, that clinically significant
toxoplasmosis might become more common as
sanitation practices improved.
Against this background, antibody to T. gondii
was assessed in a subpopulation of Marshallese
accidentally exposed to radioactive fallout in
1954. The finding of significantly fewer positive
titers for Toxoplasma antibodies amongthe people of Rongelap who received 110-190 rads of

whole-body gammaradiation suggests that the

relative infrequency of antibodyin this subgroup
mayberelated to their high radiation exposure.
However, mean antibody titers in seropositive
persons in this group, even when analyzed by
age, were similar to those in persons considered
to have either a low radiation exposure (11 rads
for the Utirik population) or none at all. The

prevalence of seronegative individuals was in-

creased in the Rongelap groupforall age categories. The prevalence of positive titers in the
Rongelap group wassignificantly lower than that
of unexposed adults currently living on Rongelap, a finding which does not support the conclusion that that island has provided less opportunity for acquiring toxoplasmosis than the other
islands studied.
Clinically there appears to be no evidence that
toxoplasmosis has posed a greater problem for

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