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Teacher was refused job because relatives have Huntington's disease

BMJ 2003; 327 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.327.7419.827-a (Published 09 October 2003) Cite this as: BMJ 2003;327:827
  1. Jane Burgermeister
  1. Vienna

    A young teacher in Germany has been refused a permanent job on the grounds that members of her family have Huntington's disease and she is therefore at risk of developing the disease herself.

    The teacher was identified as being at a high risk of Huntington's disease—a rare genetic disorder that runs in families—during a medical examination that all applicants to the German civil service, including teachers, have to undergo.

    The case …

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