ABSTRACT
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a form of spondylitis in which spine is affected primarily along with otherjoints. The vertebrae fuse together and form a rigid structure. Individuals with AS are also positive for humanleukocyte antigen (HLA) B-27. One hundred and eighty-three symptomatic patients of AS were used in thestudy. Sequence-specific priming (SSP) PCR technique was used to detect the HLA B-27 specific allele. Thisstudy showed (out of 183 suspected cases, 45 cases were detected positive with HLA B-27 allele, while theremaining 138 were negative) that the positivity rate for AS with HLA B-27 allele is less. In 183 cases, 63were females, whereas 7 cases were positive and 56 negative, whereas 38 cases were positive for male and 82cases were negative. When sample was analyzed in term of age groups, it was found that out of 45 positivesamples, the positivity rate was maximum, i.e., 57.14% in the patient above 37 years of age. Furthermore, itwas observed that the males above 30 years are more prone to develop AS with HLA B27 specific allele. Forthe diagnosis of AS, conventional PCR technology is a promising diagnostic method and can be considered asan important tool along with other diagnostics parameters.