Researchers at the University of Washington are looking for people who have tested positive for West Nile virus.

And considering Kern County had the most cases of any county in the country last year, this area seems to be a good place to look.

Below is an e-mail I got about the study. If you are interested, the contact information is at the bottom.

Under the direction of Dr. Michael Bamshad at the University of Washington, we are conducting this study to understand the genetic susceptibility to West Nile virus (WNV) in the human population. The project is supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) via the Rocky Mountain Regional Center of Excellence in Bioterrorism and Biodefense.

The purpose of this study is two-fold. We are trying to determine whether or not there is a genetic difference in the human population that makes some individuals more susceptible to WNV than others. We are also trying to find out why some people develop mild symptoms while others experience much more severe symptoms of the disease.

Currently, there are many studies looking into understanding the virus, the pathology of WNV in mosquitoes and other animal models, and developing treatments and vaccines, but there is no other study looking at genetic risk factors for West Nile virus in human hosts. Understanding how the disease affects people based on their genetic makeup may point us in the right direction towards developing effective treatments and/or vaccines.

Over the last couple of years we have been creating a cohort of WNV cases, mainly from Utah, Idaho, and Texas. The cohort will be used in a case-control genetic association study. One of the major challenges in moving forward with this study is contacting individuals who have been affected by WNV. We hope that working with the media will help spread the word about our study.

In order to participate in this study, individuals must have had a positive test for West Nile virus and be willing to donate a blood sample for genetic analysis. We will contact interested individuals to learn more about the symptoms that they experienced. If they are eligible and interested in participating, we will mail the necessary forms and blood collection kit to them. Once the forms have been filled out and the blood sample has been drawn, they can be mailed back to us in the return package.

I would be more than happy to speak with people who might be interested in participating in the study. Interested readers can contact me to learn more about this study at (206)543-7680 or husains@u.washington.edu.

Best regards,

Sofia Husain
Research Coordinator
Center for Clinical Genomics

University of Washington, Box 356320
1959 NE Pacific St, HSC RR345
Seattle, WA 98195-6320
Phone: (206)543-7680
Fax: (206)221-3795
Email: husains@u.washington.edu