There is substantial evidence from studies on racial variation in susceptibility to tuberculosis (TB)
that human genetic variation is an important determinant of the outcome of infection with Mycobacterium
tuberculosis (M tb). In only a minority of cases is there an obvious identifiable risk factor such as human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, advanced age, diabetes, corticosteroid usage or alcohol abuse. In the
remainder, a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors causes the development of clinical TB.
Assessment of the contribution of genetics of host resistance to human TB is a long-standing challenge of
human genetics research. Several studies demonstrated the association of various human leukocyte antigens
(HLA) with disease susceptibility in different ethnic populations. There are likely to be many more TBsusceptibility
genes to be identified.

Keywords: Tuberculosis, Influence, Human genetic