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A team led by Oxford University has identified genes that make certain children more susceptible to invasive bacterial infections by performing a large genome-wide association study in African children. Dr Anna Rautanen from Adrian Hill's research group at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, said: 'Critically, the genetic variants we have identified carry a doubled risk of developing bacteraemia when infected with the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. This discovery therefore provides clues in the pressing search for new ways to target the disease.'