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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
medicine
Relationship of the sickle cell gene to the ethnic and geographic groups populating the Sudan
Community Genetics, Volume 9, No. 2, Year 2006
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Description
The presence of a geographical pattern in the distribution of the sickle cell gene (S gene) and its association with malaria is well documented. To study the distribution of the S gene among various ethnic and linguistic groups in the Sudan we analyzed a hospital-based sample of 189 sickle cell anemia (SCA) patients who reported to the Khartoum Teaching Hospital between June 1996 and March 2000 and 118 controls with other complaints, against their ethnic and linguistic affiliations and geographic origin. Electrophoresis for hemoglobin S and sickling tests were carried out on all patients and controls as a prerequisite for inclusion. The majority of patients (93.7%) belonged to families of single ethnic descent, indicating the high degree of within-group marriages and thus the higher risk of augmenting the gene. SCA was found to be predominant among the Afro-Asiatic-speaking groups (68.4%) including nomadic groups of Arab and non- Arab descent that migrated to the Sudan in various historical epochs. Those patients clustered in western Sudan (Kordofan and Darfur) from where 73% of all cases originate. The proportion of patients reporting from other geographic areas like the south (3.1%), which is primarily inhabited by Nilo-Saharan-speaking groups (19% of the whole sample) who populated the country in previous times, is disproportionate to their total population in the country (X2 = 71.6; p = 0.0001). Analysis of the haplotypes associated with the S gene indicated that the most abundant haplotypes are the Cameroon, Benin, Bantu and Senegal haplotypes, respectively. No relationship was seen between haplotypes and the various hematological parameters in the sub-sample analyzed for such association. These results provide an insight into the distribution of the sickle cell gene in the Sudan, and highlight the strong link of the middle Nile Valley with West Africa through the open plateau of the Sahel and the nomadic cattle herders and also probably the relatively young age of the S gene. Copyright © 2006 S. Karger AG.
Authors & Co-Authors
Mohammed, Abdelrahim O.
Sudan, Khartoum
University of Khartoum Faculty of Medicine
Attalla, Bekhieta
Sudan, Khartoum
University of Khartoum Faculty of Medicine
Bashir, Fathya M.K.
Sudan, Khartoum
University of Khartoum Faculty of Medicine
Ahmed, Fatima E.
Sudan, Khartoum
Institute of Endemic Diseases Sudan
el-Hassan, Ahmed Mohamed A.
Sudan, Khartoum
Institute of Endemic Diseases Sudan
Ibnauf, Gafar
Sudan, Khartoum
Federal Ministry of Health Sudan
Jiang, Weiying
United States, Stanford
Stanford University School of Medicine
Cavalli-Sforza, Luigi Luca
United States, Stanford
Stanford University School of Medicine
Karrar, Zein Al A.A.R.
Sudan, Khartoum
University of Khartoum Faculty of Medicine
Ibrahim, Muntaser Eltayeb
Sudan, Khartoum
Institute of Endemic Diseases Sudan
Statistics
Citations: 38
Authors: 10
Affiliations: 4
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1159/000091489
ISSN:
14222795
Research Areas
Genetics And Genomics
Health System And Policy
Infectious Diseases
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Locations
Multi-countries
Benin
Cameroon
Senegal
Sudan