Professor Martin Hibberd at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has used a genomic approach to confirm that human complement factor H is the key controller of meningococcal disease susceptibility, protecting Neisseria meningitides from complement-mediated killing. Blocking factor H activity with antibodies has led to the first licensed vaccine against meningococcal serogroup B. A similar genomic approach has identified susceptibility loci for Dengue shock syndrome suggesting mechanisms and diagnostics for this life threatening condition.

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