Can presence of HLA type I and II alleles be associated with clinical spectrum of CHIKV infection?

Host immune response and virulence factors are key to disease susceptibility. However, there are no known association studies of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and II alleles with chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection in the Latin American population. Here, we aimed to identify HLA alleles present in patients with CHIKV infection versus healthy controls as well as the allelic association with the clinical spectrum of the disease. We conducted a cross‐sectional analysis of a community cohort and included patients aged 18 years and older with serologically confirmed CHIKV infection. HLA typing of HLA‐A, HLA‐B, and HLA‐DRB1 alleles was performed. Two‐by‐two tables were used to establish associations between allele presence and clinical characteristics. Data from 65 patients with confirmed CHIKV infection were analyzed for HLA typing. CHIKV infection was significantly associated with the presence of HLA‐A*68 [p = .005; odds ratio (OR): 8.90; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.88–42.13], HLA‐B*35 (p = .03; OR: 2.01; 95% CI: 1.06–3.86), HLA‐DRB*01 (p