Prevalence of CCR2–64I,SDF1–3′A and CCR5‐Δ32 alleles in healthy Thais

A genetic survey was performed of 200 healthy Thai blood donors for the frequency of three alleles that influence susceptibility to HIV infection and the rate of progression to HIV disease. The CCR5‐Δ32 allele was not detected in this population. The CCR2–64I allele was detected at a frequency similar to that found in other Asian populations (15.7%). SDF1–3′A was detected at 33.2%, supporting a cline of increasing frequency of this allele from African and Caucasian to Asian (particularly Australasian) populations. These results have implications for the role of host genetic background in the biology and pathology of HIV in Thailand, and indicate that a systematic survey of non‐Caucasian populations may reveal novel alleles important in HIV disease.