Abstract
In this issue of the Journal, an article [1] reports the results of a human genome scan for quantitative trait loci (QTLs) influencing susceptibility to Ascaris lumbricoides.Theworkisimportantbothforthe insight that it provides into how the body resistsheavyinfectionwiththisimportant soil-transmitted intestinal helminth and for what it promises in this new era of investigation and discovery concerning whichhumangenesinfluencesusceptibility to infection. Every infectious-diseases physician has puzzled over the differing sensitivities of patientstoinfectionortothemedications used to treat infection. Why do some HIV-infected patients progress slowly to disease?Howdopersonswithpositivetuberculintestresultsnotdevelopactivetuberculosis? What predisposes patients to adverse effects from antibiotics? The discipline of genetic epidemiology now has both the technology and statistical rigor to answer many of these questions. Some of the most notable answers to date include the resistance to severePlasmodium falciparum malaria provided by the sickle celltrait[2]andtoPlasmodiumvivaxmalaria due to Duffy blood group negativity [3], the 32-bp deletion in the CCR5 chemokine receptor that renders homozygous individuals resistant to infection with CCR5-tropic HIV [4], and the association of the variant in the peptide
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