[The distribution of the HLA antigen system among patients with echinococcosis]

Fifty six patients suffering from echinococcosis and 155 healthy persons were examined. The examination revealed the predominance of HLA-B5 and HLA-B18 antigen carriers among the patients suffering from echinococcosis unilocularis, and HLA-A1 and HLA-B35 in a group of patients suffering from echinococcosis multilocularis. In the first group no HLA-B14 antigen carriers were found and there was only 1 patients with HLA-B27 antigen. The data obtained prompt that HLA-B5, B18, A1 and B35 antigen carriers present the high-risk group for developing echinococcosis while HLA-B14 and B27 antigens evidently determine certain resistance to these invasions. Some differences were also marked in distribution of HLA antigens depending on the site of involvement: high frequency of HLA-B5 carriers among patients suffering from hepatic echinococcosis and HLA-B18 carriers among patients suffering from pulmonary echinococcosis.