• K L Mrubata, P Barrow, E Mayne, D Nelson, and T De Maayer.
• Department of Paediatrics, Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital and Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. mrbkit001@gmail.com.
• S. Afr. Med. J. 2021 Oct 5; 111 (10): 991-994.

BackgroundCoeliac disease (CD) is an autoimmune condition occurring in genetically predisposed individuals exposed to an environmental trigger. The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotypes HLA-DQ2.5 and HLA-DQ8 have the strongest association with CD, and 90 - 95% of CD patients bear these haplotypes. The susceptibility of the South African (SA) population to CD has not been studied previously.ObjectivesTo describe the genetic propensity of the SA population to CD.MethodsThe South African National Blood Service database was used to analyse the prevalence of HLA-DQ2.5 and HLA-DQ8 in potential donors and recipients of organ transplants. Self-reported ethnic group was used to estimate the prevalence among different population groups.ResultsThe overall prevalence of HLA-DQ2.5 and HLA-DQ8 was 19.8%. The prevalence was lower in black participants (15.9%) than in whites (28.6%). Coloured (22.0%) and Indian (17.4%) participants had an intermediate prevalence. There was no significant difference between potential transplant donors and recipients.ConclusionsThe prevalence of HLA-DQ2.5 and HLA-DQ8 differed among SA study participants of different ethnicities. However, the notion that CD does not occur in black South Africans owing to lack of a genetic predisposition is incorrect.

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