ASSOCIATION OF HLA B27 WITH BENIGN CLINICAL COURSE OF NEPHROPATHIA-EPIDEMICA CAUSED BY PUUMALA HANTAVIRUS

Both the severe course of nephropathia epidemica (NE) caused by Puumal a hantavirus, and the fast progression of human immunodeficiency virus OW) disease, are associated with the HLA B8 DRB10301 haplotype. As H LA B27, on the contrary, is associated with the slow progression of HN disease, we wanted to test whether the same is true for NE, Only six (8%) NE patients, half the figure expected, had the HLA B27 allele in 74 randomly selected hospital-treated patients. All six had a benign o verall clinical course of NE; none had any severe complications, the s everity of renal failure was also mild, and the treatment time at the hospital was half that needed for HLA B27(-) patients (P = 0.004), Pat ients who were HLA B27(-) had maximal blood leucocyte count > 10.000 x 10(9)/L (P = 0.020) more often, probably reflecting differences in im mune response. Thus, similar HLA associations can be found in both HIV infection and NE caused by Puumala virus.