COMMON INFECTIOUS-DISEASES IN A POPULATION WITH LOW MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS AND VARICELLA OCCURRENCE

A previous study revealed the rarity of varicella tester virus (VZV) d iseases among 5601 Hutterite Brethren living in a high-risk area for t hese diseases. The current study was established to determine the freq uency of other common infectious diseases. The information was gathere d from a population-based study of a unique group of Manitoba citizens and compared with an equal number of their age and sex-matched neighb ors. The data were contained in the records of the Manitoba Health Ser vices Commission (MHSC). The MHSC, the sole paying agency for medical diseases in Manitoba, contained 94,383,972 records for all of Manitoba for the years 1985 to 1991 inclusive. From these, the records of a co hort of 5601 Hutterites and an equal number of non-Hutterite age- and sex-matched controls were examined for the frequency of 14 diseases of interest. To be eligible a Hutterite subject must have one of the 22 unique family names and live on a Colony with the precise address. A c ontrol must be age (within 10 years) and sex-matched, live in the same or a contiguous postal code, and use the same medical practitioners. There were no interventions or identification of any member of the stu dy. Mumps, acute coryza, and rubella are of the same frequency among t he two groups. Only herpes simplex and cellulitis are more common amon g the Hutterites. Air of the other nine common infectious diseases are significantly more common among the controls. The VZV diseases are no t exclusively less common among the Hutterite Brethren. Nine other com mon infectious diseases are also less common but the degree of signifi cant difference does not reach the level of the VZV diseases. The redu ction in numbers of these diseases among the Hutterites is not related to the vaccination habits of the group and is not due to physical iso lation. The Hutterites appear to have a more effective immune system r elative to their neighbors. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.