Familial eosinophilia is a rare congenital disorder characterized by the presence of sustained elevations in blood eosinophil levels that reach ranges diagnostic of eosinophilia or, far more commonly, hypereosinophilia. It is an autosomal dominant disorder in which genetic linkage gene mapping family studies localize the gene responsible for it to chromosome 5 at position q31-q33, between markers D5S642 and D5S816. This region contains a cytokine gene cluster which includes three genes whose protein products function in regulating the development and proliferation of eosinophils viz., interleukin 3, interleukin 5, and colony stimulating factor 2. However, no functional sequence genetic polylmophisms are found within the promoter, exons, or introns, of these genes or within the common gene enhancer for interleukin 3 or colony stimulating factor 2. This suggests that the primary defect in familial eosinophilia is not a mutation in one of these genes but rather in another gene within this chromosome area. Clinical manifestations and tissue destruction related to the eosinophilia in this disorder are uncommon: familial eosinophilia typically has a benign phenotype compared to other congenital and acquired eosinophilic diseases.