HLA histocompatibility antigens and meningococcal disease.

We have searched for possible associations between HLA antigens and meningococcal disease. Forty-three unrelated patients who recovered from meningococcal disease were typed for 37 HLA-A, -B and -C antigens, and 20 of them were also typed for eight HLA-DR antigens. As compared to healthy controls, a higher frequency of the HLA-A3 antigen was found among patients recovered from meningococcal septicaemia, but the difference was not statistically significant. Nor was there any significant association between other HLA antigens and meningococcal disease. This is in contrast to a recent report by Russian researchers who found a significant association between the HLA-B16 antigen and meningococcal disease.