Theresa42
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Little Evidence for Genetic Susceptibility to Influenza A (H5N1) from Family Clustering Data
Emerg Infect Dis 2007 Jul [Epub ahead of print]
Virginia E. Pitzer,* Sonja J. Olsen,† Carl T. Bergstrom,‡ Scott F. Dowell,† and Marc Lipsitch*
*Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; †Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; and ‡University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
The apparent clustering of human cases of influenza A (H5N1) among blood relatives has been considered as evidence of genetic variation in susceptibility. We show that, by chance alone, a high proportion of clusters are expected to be limited to blood relatives when infection is a rare event.
Since December, 2003, 36 family clusters among 261 confirmed human cases of influenza A (H5N1) have been documented (1,2). These clusters range in size from 2 to 8 infected persons; in only 4 clusters were 2 unrelated family members (e.g., husband and wife) infected. This pattern has been considered by the World Health Organization as evidence of genetic variation in susceptibility (3–5), but we show this observation provides little grounds for this inference. We describe a null model in which nuclear families experience a common exposure to an avian influenza virus. The observed degree of clustering in blood relatives is consistent with that expected by chance alone in the absence of genetic variation in susceptibility; other features of the data are also consistent with the null model....
http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/13/7/pdfs/06-1538.pdf
Little Evidence for Genetic Susceptibility to Influenza A (H5N1) from Family Clustering Data
Emerg Infect Dis 2007 Jul [Epub ahead of print]
Virginia E. Pitzer,* Sonja J. Olsen,† Carl T. Bergstrom,‡ Scott F. Dowell,† and Marc Lipsitch*
*Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; †Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; and ‡University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
The apparent clustering of human cases of influenza A (H5N1) among blood relatives has been considered as evidence of genetic variation in susceptibility. We show that, by chance alone, a high proportion of clusters are expected to be limited to blood relatives when infection is a rare event.
Since December, 2003, 36 family clusters among 261 confirmed human cases of influenza A (H5N1) have been documented (1,2). These clusters range in size from 2 to 8 infected persons; in only 4 clusters were 2 unrelated family members (e.g., husband and wife) infected. This pattern has been considered by the World Health Organization as evidence of genetic variation in susceptibility (3–5), but we show this observation provides little grounds for this inference. We describe a null model in which nuclear families experience a common exposure to an avian influenza virus. The observed degree of clustering in blood relatives is consistent with that expected by chance alone in the absence of genetic variation in susceptibility; other features of the data are also consistent with the null model....
http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/13/7/pdfs/06-1538.pdf
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