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It’s not all down to the virus

DNA When we think about virus pathogensis, we tend to get hung up on genetic variation and new “virulent” strains of virus appearing. The recent example of the Sydney 2012 strain of norovirus is a good example of this.

But we also know that around 20% of Europeans are highly resistant to symptomatic infections by noroviruses (Mendelian resistance to human norovirus infections. (2006) Seminars in immunology 18(6): 375-386).

Likewise, host variation in the IL28B gene is responsible for the outcome of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (Genetic Variation in the Interleukin-28B Gene Is Associated with Spontaneous Clearance and Progression of Hepatitis C Virus in Moroccan Patients. (2013) PLoS ONE 8(1): e54793).

So when you get sick, make sure you take your fair share of the responsibility!

 

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This entry was posted on Monday, February 4th, 2013 at 3:30 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

One Comment

  • Ed Rybicki says:
    February 5, 2013 at 8:51 am

    But you CAN blame your genes: if you’re male, and it’s HSV-2, or you’re Chinese, and it’s flu…..