Association between MBL2 haplotypes and dengue severity in children from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Background: Dengue is an arthropod-borne viral disease with a majority of asymptomatic individuals and clinical manifestations varying from mild fever to severe and potentially lethal forms. An increasing number of genetic studies have outlined the association between host genetic variations and dengue severity. Genes associated to viral recognition and entry, as well as those encoding mediators of the immune response against infection are strong candidates for association studies.