Toxoplasmin Reactions in Children and Juveniles

Abstract

Of altogether 1030 children and juveniles between 0 and 19 years of age who were examined in Berlin (GDR) by means of the toxoplasmin skin test, 217 reacted positively (21.1%). Statistically significant differences were found between the number of subjects with positive reaction from the city of Berlin (13.3%) and from the surroundings of Berlin (40.5%). Boys reacted positively more often than girls; the difference, however, was not significant. The rate of positive skin reactions was very low between 0 and 2 years of age; it rose slowly in the preschool and school ages. The frequencies of positive reactors up to the 10th year of age were roughly comparable to those found by other authors in Czechoslovakia, Switzerland and Roumania. The rates of juveniles between 14 and 19 years of age were much higher than of younger children (47.6%), and also much higher than the rates found by other authors.