RÉSUMÉ
To investigate the association of rheumatic heart disease [RHD] with human leukocyte antigen [HLA] class II alleles in Yemeni patients Case control study Al-Thawra Modern General Hospital, Sana'a, Yemen One hundred RHD patients [case group] and 50 healthy subjects [control group] were recruited in this study. Echocardiography was used to include RHD patients [abnormal echocardiography] and healthy subjects [normal echocardiography]. HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 polymorphisms were genotyped by sequence-specific oligonucleotide-probe polymerase chain reaction [PCRSSOP] reverse dot blot hybridization. The results showed that HLADRB1*07 and HLADQB1*0203 allele as risk factors for RHD [OR = 4.0; 8.7, p = 0.005; 0.02, respectively]. In contrast, the HLADRB1*11, HLADQB1*0305 and HLADQB1*0602 alleles showed a protective association against RHD [OR = 0.32; 0.23; 0.24, p = 0.01; 0.03; 0.01, respectively]. HLA class II genetic variants were a predisposing factor for development of RHD in Yemeni people. This study also replicated the association of HLADRB1*07 with RI-ID and suggested that HLADQB1*0203 allele is a risk factor for RHD