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Abstract
An analysis of the dialogue surrounding historical and current dengue incidence, prevalence, morbidity and mortality reveals that race is defined as a risk factor influencing host immune response. African descendent populations in the Americas are often highlighted as having an innate resistance to severe dengue infection. This paper explores this hypothesis and, using a historical, epidemiological and immunological perspective, attempts to evaluate its viability. This multidisciplinary approach elucidates the need to proceed cautiously in any research searching for correlations between biological racial characteristics and disease. It emphasizes that the investigation of the hypothesized African descendent population dengue resistance be approached from the perspective of dengue while at the same time acknowledging variation within a population that has historically been oversimplified.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Kevin R. Porter MD, Charmagne Beckett MD, and Dave Chadee PhD for continued support and thoughtful discussions that allowed for the development of the ideas expressed in this paper. Mr Aaron Shapiro is thanked for his assistance in the editing and organization of the first draft of this paper, M. Timothy Goddard, MAA for his GIS work and illustrations, Mrs Rebecca Turton, BA for her assistance in creating the tables and figures provided in the manuscript, and Mr Andy Turton for his editorial contributions towards the final draft of this paper.