Histocompatibility antigens and dengue hemorrhagic fever

Histocompatibility antigen (HLA) A and B typing on lymphocytes from 87 unrelated Thai children who had been hospitalized with dengue shock syndrome (DSS) and/or dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) was compared with that found in 138 controls who had not been hospitalized with clinical dengue infection. These data are presented as descriptive information; however, a statistical analysis was performed to identify potentially important relationships for future study. Several deviations (P less than 0.05) were detected in the distribution of four HLA-A and three HLA-B antigens. The prevalence of one HLA-A antigen and two HLA-B antigens appeared to relate to the development of DSS, with a positive association seen for HLA-A2 and HLA-B blank and a negative relationship for HLA-B13. These findings require confirmation, but they do suggest that genetic susceptibility may be important in the development of DHF/DSS and indicate that further broader studies of genetic markers might be rewarding.