Furthermore, to elucidate the possible broader association of SCGB1D2 Pro53Leu with pathogens we analysed association across 36 different disease categories, including tick-mediated diseases (tick-borne encephalitis), general arthropod behavioral markers (scabies), spirochete bacterium phylum members (syphilis) and other bacterial diseases (e.g., sepsis, scarlet fever, and erysipelas) of which none were associated with Lyme disease SCGB1D2 Pro53Leu variant (Supplementary Fig. 8). This evidence concerns the gene SCGB1D2 and syphilis.