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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
Global distribution of the sickle cell gene and geographical confirmation of the malaria hypothesis
Nature Communications, Volume 1, No. 8, Article 104, Year 2010
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Description
It has been 100 years since the first report of sickle haemoglobin (HbS). More than 50 years ago, it was suggested that the gene responsible for this disorder could reach high frequencies because of resistance conferred against malaria by the heterozygous carrier state. This traditional example of balancing selection is known as the 'malaria hypothesis'. However, the geographical relationship between the transmission intensity of malaria and associated HbS burden has never been formally investigated on a global scale. Here, we use a comprehensive data assembly of HbS allele frequencies to generate the first evidence-based map of the worldwide distribution of the gene in a Bayesian geostatistical framework. We compare this map with the pre-intervention distribution of malaria endemicity, using a novel geostatistical area-mean comparison. We find geographical support for the malaria hypothesis globally; the relationship is relatively strong in Africa but cannot be resolved in the Americas or in Asia. © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Piel, Frédéric Bernard
United Kingdom, Oxford
University of Oxford
Patil, Anand Prabhakar
United Kingdom, Oxford
University of Oxford
Howes, Rosalind E.
United Kingdom, Oxford
University of Oxford
Nyangiri, Oscar Asanya
Kenya, Kilifi
Centre for Geographic Medicine Research
Gething, Peter W.
United Kingdom, Oxford
University of Oxford
Williams, Thomas Neil
Kenya, Kilifi
Centre for Geographic Medicine Research
Weatherall, David J.
United Kingdom, Oxford
John Radcliffe Hospital
Hay, Simon I.
United Kingdom, Oxford
University of Oxford
Statistics
Citations: 488
Authors: 8
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1038/ncomms1104
e-ISSN:
20411723
Research Areas
Genetics And Genomics
Infectious Diseases
Study Design
Randomised Control Trial