Three human gene variants appear to influence tb susceptibility:
Approximately one-third of the world's population is thought to be infected with the M. tuberculosis pathogen, yet only about 10 percent becomes ill with the active disease. Researchers suspect that a variety of factors interplay to determine who develops the full-blown disease. For example, in February 2006 Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers were part of a team that identified a mechanism that explains why people of African descent may be more vulnerable to the disease.
The paper is reputedly in the PNAS - Early Edition section.
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What a useless press release. Let's hope the paper tells us a little more about Ipr1/SP110. Or is this just a genetic study?
From here:
Survival of Mycobacterium bovis outside mammalian hosts is variable depending on ambient environmental conditions (cold, damp condition increases survival; bright, dry conditions decreases survival of the bacteria).
So it shouldn't be a surprise that people with cold-country ancestors have more natural immunity.