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Nature Reviews Genetics 10, 428–429 (1 July 2009) | doi:10.1038/nrg2627

Human disease: Malaria GWA study brings progress for infectious disease genetics

Orli G. Bahcall

Although genome-wide association (GWA) studies have reported several hundred robust associations for a range of human traits, susceptibility to infectious disease has lagged behind in this respect. Given the global prevalence and burden of infectious diseases, as well as their prioritization by some funding agencies, it is fair to ask why.