HLA-DRB1 and chronic hepatitis B virus infection: The data of Yang indicated that HLA-DRB1*03 and HLADRB1*07 were related to susceptibility to chronic HBV infection, and that DRB1*15 was negatively related to the persistence of chronic HBV infection among people in northwestern China [1], whereas Meng et al. [23] showed that HLA-DRB1*1201 is associated with protection against chronic hepatitis B, and HLA-DR9 and DQ9 are associated with chronicity of HBV infection in Zhejiang Province, China.