The results of the current study, on the basis of high-resolution typing procedures in combination with the du Montcel HLA-DRB1 SE classification system [7], reveal that the incidence of RA risk-associated alleles in a population of predominantly black South African females with RA is comparable to or higher than those reported in European and Japanese populations [19-21] and somewhat higher than those reported in the relatively few studies undertaken in African Americans, which range from 25% to 40% [35-37]. The gene discussed is HLA-DRB1; the disease is rheumatoid arthritis.